LIBRARY 

OF  THK 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 


VERNAL'   FALLS,    YOSKMITE    VALLEY. 


WESTERN  SERIES  OF  READERS  —  VOL.  VI 


toritz  of  d^ur  Jftotfter  Cartl) 


BY 


HAROLD  W.  FAIRBANKS,  PH.  D. 


SAN   FRANCISCO 
THE  WHITAKER  &  RAY  COMPANY 

(INCORPORATED) 

1899 


THE 


4 

'  I      COPYRIGHTED,  1899, 

BY 

HAROLD  W.  FAIRBANKS,  PH.  D. 


INTRODUCTION. 

NATURE  study  is  deservedly  attracting  more  and  more  atten- 
tion in  the  schools,  but  the  most  of  the  aids  for  teachers  and 
pupils  have  been  limited  to  a  presentation  of  organic  nature, 
while  the  wide  and  fully  as  important  field  of  inorganic  nature 
has  been  very  much  neglected.  With  the  hope  of  supplying, 
to  some  extent,  the  existing  lack,  this  little  book  is  presented 
for  the  use  of  grammar-grade  pupils. 

It  has  been  the  opinion  of  some  educators  that  children  are 
not  as  quickly  or  as  easily  interested  in  rocks,  minerals,  and 
the  processes  which  are  changing  the  surface  of  the'  earth, 
as  in  plants  and  animals.  I  believe,  however,  that  where  the 
experiment  has  been  well  tried,  all  phases  of  nature  with  which 
the  child  comes  in  contact,  have  been  found  to  be  equally 
interesting  and  instructive. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  study  of  specimens  by  them- 
selves is  largely  devoid  of  interest.  Children  want  to  know 
the  relation  existing  between  things  in  the  world  about  them. 
I  am  thoroughly  convinced  also  that  they  are  capable  of  under- 
standing many  of  the  processes  involved  in  the  shaping  of  the 
earth,  but  because  of  the  idea  that  the  subject  is  too  difficult, 
or  from  lack  of  proper  familiarity  with  nature  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher,  these  inorganic  nature  studies  are  more  often 
neglected. 

The  majority  of  children  leave  school  at,  or  before,  the  com- 
pletion of  the  grammar  grades,  and  for  these  the  great  realm 
of  inorganic  nature  has  too  often  no  meaning.  We  must  reach 
these  and  give  them  at  least  some  correct  ideas  of  the  origin 
and  meaning  of  the  common  things  about  them. 

In  mountainous  regions  especially,  where  mining  is  often 
such  an  important  industry,  and  physical  nature  seems  to  work 


117539 


6  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

more  energetically,  it  is  particularly  desirable  that  the  children 
should  go  out  from  school  with  some  living  knowledge  of  their 
surroundings.  They  should  know  something  of  those  aspects 
of  nature  with  which  they  have  to  deal  their  whole  lives. 

1  do  not  wish  to  unduly  emphasize  the  economic  aspect  of 
education  at  the  expense  of  the  so-called  cultural,  but  I  do 
maintain  that  the  education  of  the  child  should  bear  some 
relation  to  his  life's  surroundings,  and  if,  as  is  the  case  with 
nature  studies,  this  education  is  cultural  as  well  as  economic, 
then  so  much  the  better.  Those  who  pass  their  lives  in  the 
mountains  with  the  rocks  and  minerals  all  about  them,  and 
the  processes  of  disintegration,  erosion,  etc.,  actively  at  work, 
should  be  able,  on  leaving  school,  to  interpret  the  more  simple 
of  these  phenomena  in  a  rational  manner. 

Nature  study  from  books  cannot  be  a  success.  Books  should 
only  direct  to  nature  herself.  Neither  should  nature  study  be 
an  addition  to  already  crowded  courses  but  should  supplant, 
especially  in  geography,  much  which  is  still  too  often  taught 
irrationally  and  mechanically. 

It  has  been  my  purpose  in  the  preparation  of  the  following 
chapters  to  present  in  a  simple  manner,  some  elementary  con- 
ceptions in  geology,  mineralogy,  and  physical  geography. 
While  the  different  topics  are  illustrated  by  examples  from  the 
Pacific  Coast,  yet  the  most  of  them  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to 
be  applicable  to  any  section  of  the  country. 

The  Pacific  Coast  is  particularly  rich  in  illustrative  material 
for  the  study  of  inorganic  nature,  but  up  to  the  present  time 
little  of  this  material  has  been  put  in  such  shape  as  to  be  avail- 
able for  the  use  of  schools. 

If  the  subjects  presented  here  should  prove  helpful,  even  in 
a  small  degree,  to  teachers  and  pupils,  and  arouse  in  them  a 
desire  to  know  more  of  the  processes  of  nature  going  on  all 
about,  the  purpose  of  the  book  will  have  been  accomplished. 

HAROLD  W.  FAIRBANKS, 

May  15, 1899.  Berkeley,  California. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

THIS  HOME  OF  OURS 11 

THE  BOOK  FLOOR 17 

How  THE  SOIL  Is  FORMED 23 

A  HANDFUL  OF  SAND 31 

THE  WORK  OF  THE  WIND „ 37 

A  CURIOUS  CALIFORNIA  RIVER 43 

THE  STORY  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO  BAY 49 

AN  ANCIENT  OYSTER  BED 56 

A  RAINSTORM  IN  THE  DESERT 62 

THE  STORY  OF  PETROLEUM 69 

THE  HISTORY  OF  A  PACKAGE  OF  BORAX 77 

WHERE  OUR  SALT  COMES  FROM 83 

MONO  LAKE 89 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  COLORADO  RIVER 96 

WHAT  WE  SAW  IN  AN  OCEAN  CLIFF 103 

How  ISLANDS  ARE  FORMED 110 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  YOSEMITE  VALLEY 116 

WHEN  THE  MASTODON  LIVED 123 

THE  MAKING  OF  MOUNTAINS 133 

AN  EXTINCT  VOLCANO 137 

CAVES 143 

CRATER  LAKE 149 

THE  LAVA  PLATEAU  OF  THE  NORTHWEST 156 

DOWN  IN  A  GOLD  MINE 161 

WHERE  THE  QUICKSILVER  Is  MADE 169 

THE  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A  NUGGET 177 

COAL,  GRAPHITE,  DIAMOND 185 

SOME  ANIMALS  OF  LONG  AGO 192 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FRONTISPIECE  — Vernal  Falls,  Yosemite. 

Surface  of  a  Recent  Lava  Flow  —  Mono  County,  California   .    PAGE    16 

The  Soil  Covering  the  Rocks , 24 

What  I-  Left  of  a  Mountain 30 

Sand  Dunes— Salinas  Valley,  California 38 

Dry  Bed  of  the  Salinas  River  — Summer-time 44 

San  Francisco  Bay 50 

An  Ancient  Oyster  Bed  — Southern  California 58 

Cactus  Garden  — Colorado  Desert 64 

Tar  Spring  in  the  Coast  Range     • 68 

Hauling  Borax  in  the  Desert 80 

Salt  Plow  at  Work  at  Salton  Sea 87 

Mono  Lake 91 

Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado  River 97 

An  Ocean  Cave  — Pt.  Loma,  California .104 

Rocky  Islands  near  Pt.  Buchon,  California Ill 

"The  Mastodon" 124 

Folded  Rocks  — Coast  of  California 132 

Mt.  Shasta 136 

Moss  Brae  Falls „    .    .  144 

Crater  Lake  — Southern  Oregon 153 

"May  Lundy"  Gold  Mine 162 

New  Idria  Quicksilver  Mine 170 

North  Bloomfield  Hydraulic  Mine         178 

Leaping  Dinosaur 195 

Early  Ancestor  of  Modern  Horse      197 

Skeleton  of  Early  Ancestor  of  Horse 198 


THIS  HOME  OF  OURS. 


HE  earth  is  our  home.  Ever  since 
we  can  remember  we  have  been 
living  upon  it,  and  moving  about 
here  and  there.  We  have  slowly 
become  acquainted  with  some  of 
its  nooks  and  corners,  but  our 

rambles  still  bring  us  to  many  things  which  we 

do  not  understand. 

As   we  climb  the   hills,  or  follow  the  rippling 

streams,  or  wander  along  the  beach,  we  feel  that 

this  is  a  very  pleasant  place  in  which  to  live.     For 

some  of  us  the  growing  plants  and  flowers  are  the 

most  attractive.    Some  like 

best  to  watch  the  strange 

behavior  of  the  little  ani- 

mals   and    insects,    while 

others   think    the    smooth 

and  brightly  colored  peb- 

bles   are    of    the    greatest 

interest. 

As   we   grow  older,  the 

world  seems  to  widen  out 

u 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Interesting  things  right 

about  us. 

The  changing  earth. 
We    cannot      combat 

Nature,  we  must  take 

advantage     of    her 

•ways. 
Value  of  knowing  how 

Nature  works. 


12  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

faster  than  we  can  explore  it.  We  travel  farther, 
and  catch  glimpses  of  a  great  range  of  snowy  moun- 
tains, at  the  foot  of  which  are  broad  fertile  valleys, 
and  beyond  them  the  shining  Pacific  Ocean. 

As  we  have  a  chance  to  examine  this  country 
closer,  we  find  new  things.  The  streams  from  the 
mountains  are  led  out  over  the  valleys,  and  keep 
them  moist  through  the  long  summers,  so  that 
almost  everything  people  need  grows  here. 

In  the  mountains  there  are  deep  canons  through 
which,  in  the  late  spring,  flow  dashing  streams  of 
muddy  water.  In  the  fall  they  are  quiet  and  clear, 
and  we  can  count  the  pebbles  over  which  they 
ripple.  In  some  places  they  plunge  over  great 
walls  of  rock,  and  in  others  they  run  quietly  under 
drooping  willows. 

High  on  the  mountains  there  are  no  trees;  only 
bare  rocks  and  snow-banks.  From  a  tall  peak,  we 
can  see  over  the  range  to  a  very  different  region 
beyond.  In  that  direction  there  are  no  green  fields, 
no  houses,  nothing  but  a  stretch  of  parched  ground, 
for  on  that  side  of  the  mountains  it  seldom  rains, 
and  there  are  few  running  streams. 

If  we  turn  our  footsteps  to  the  ocean,  we  see  in 
some  places  long  ridges  running  out  into  the  water. 
Where  the  waves  have  washed  off  the  soil  from 
these  ridges  there  are  jagged  rocks,  perilous  places 
for  the  ships. 


THIS   HOME   OF   OURS.  13 

Behind  the  cliffs  we  see  the  bays,  where  the  broad 
valleys  come  down  to  the  ocean.  The  rivers  wind 
sluggishly  through  these  valleys,  as  though  they  did 
not  know  which  way  to  go. 

We  enjoy  seeing  all  these  things,  and  by  and  by 
we  begin  to  wonder  about  them,  and  to  ask  ques- 
tions. The  world  becomes  to  us  something  more 
than  a  mere  playground  made  for  our  especial 
benefit. 

We  begin  to  realize  how  large  the  world  is,  and 
how  many  things  it  contains  which  we  shall  have 
to  study  to  understand.  We  see  that  life  itself  de- 
pends upon  these  things.  If  it  were  not  for  the  great 
oceans  from  which  the  breezes  carry  moisture  to 
the  mountain  tops,  there  to  be  condensed  into  rain, 
and  water  the  thirsty  land,  no  plants  or  animals 
could  live,  and  our  homes  would  become  a  parched 
desert. 

We  see  that  in  choosing  our  homes  we  cannot  go 
where  we  please,  for  we  cannot  grow  our  food  in 
the  desert,  or  upon  the  rugged  mountains.  We 
must  choose  the  fertile  valleys,  if  we  would  be 
farmers.  We  must  leave  the  valleys  and  seek  the 
mountains,  if  we  would  be  miners. 

Great  cities  do  not  grow  up  at  any  point.  They 
are  located  in  the  protected  harbor,  behind  the 
rocky  headland,  where  the  river  and  the  valley 
meet  the  ocean,  where  the  ships  can  come  and  take 


14  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

the  produce.  Manufactories  must  be  built  where 
dashing  streams  roaring  among  the  bowlders,  or 
pouring  in  cascades  over  the  rocky  cliffs,  furnish 
the  necessary  power  for  running  machinery. 

It  is  clear  then,  that  our  lives,  as  well  as  the 
lives  of  the  animals  and  plants,  depend  upon  the 
oceans,  the  position  of  the  mountain  ranges,  and 
the  direction  of  the  winds. 

We  question  the  mountains,  and  the  rivers,  and 
the  ocean.  We  wonder  if  they  have  always  been 
where  they  are  now.  The  mountains  look  so  firm 
and  solid  it  seems  as  if  they  must  always  have 
stood  where  they  do  now.  But  some  day  we  find 
shells  upon  a  high  ridge  far  from  the  ocean.  This 
puzzles  us,  for  these  shells  must  have  lived  in  the 
ocean  once. 

We  finally  come  to  the  conclusion  that  betore  we 
can  know  all  about  the  plants;  why  one  kind  grows 
on  the  hillside,  another  by  the  brook;  why  the 
animals  are  distributed  as  we  find  them;  why 
cities  grow  up  as  they  do ;  and  why  in  one  part  of 
the  country  people  till  the  ground,  and  in  another 
part  dig  deep  for  the  minerals,  we  must  know  a 
little  more  about  the  foundations  of  our  home. 

We  must  know  how  the  rocks  and  the  soil  were 
made,  how  the  mountains  grew,  and  why  the  rivers 
run  as  they  do.  We  must  understand  how  Nature 
is  shaping  the  earth  about  us. 


THIS  HOME   OF   OURS.  15 

In  order  to  do  this,  we  shall  study  what  the  rain 
and  the  frost  are  doing  upon  the  mountain  tops. 
We  shall  trace  the  river's  course,  and  find  where 
the  mud  which  it  carries  to  the  ocean  comes  from. 
We  shall  try  to  understand  how  this  mud  is  spread 
over  the  floor  of  the  ocean,  and  what  the  waves  are 
doing  as  they  continually  beat  against  the  land. 

We  shall  go  beneath  the  rich  soil  upon  which 
our  grain  grows,  and  find  out  what  is  going  on 
within  the  earth.  We  shall  want  to  know  about 
many  things  which  are  dug  from  the  earth, — how 
the  coal  was  formed,  and  where  the  petroleum 
comes  from.  The  gold,  quicksilver,  borax,  and  salt, 
will  also  interest  us. 

Nature  has  many  forces  at  work,  some  great  and 
some  small.  They  have  worked  a  long  time  getting 
this  home  of  ours  ready  for  us.  If  we  can  under- 
stand how  Nature  works,  our  home  will  be  more 
dear  to  us,  and  we  shall  be  happier. 

BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Sluggishly  (slfig'glsh-ly)  realize  (re'al-iz),  manufac- 
tories (man'u-fak'to-riz). 


Parched  =  very  dry. 

Jagged  =  having  rough  sharp  points. 

Cascade  =  a  small  waterfall. 

Found  ation  =  that  on  which  anything  stands. 

Perilous  =  full  of  danger. 

Till  =  to  cultivate. 


THE  ROCK  FLOOR. 


BLOW  the  loose  earth  upon  which 
we  walk  there  is  a  rock  floor.  This 
floor  forms  the  crust  of  the  globe, 
and  stretches  all  around  it.  It  is 
what  makes  the  globe  solid  and 
firm. 
When  the  rock  floor  was  formed,  a  long  time  ago, 

it  was  very  rough  and  uneven.     Nature  covered  a 

part  of  it  with  the  great  oceans.     Over  another  part 

she  spread  a  dark  carpet  of  soil;  but  she  has  not  yet 

succeeded  in  covering  the  tops  of  the  mountains. 
Along  the  ocean  cliffs  the  waves  have  washed 

away    the    carpet   of    soil, 

and  we  can  see  how  rough 

and  hard  the  floor  is.     We 

can  also   see  the   rock  in 

the  bottoms  of  all  the  little 

gulches  in   the   hills;   but 

in  the  valleys  the  floor  is 

hidden  very  deeply. 

How    would    the   world 

look  if  there  were  no  soil, 

17 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

The    formation     of    the 

rock  floor. 
Lava. 

The  need  of  soil. 
Different  kinds  of  rock. 
Where    are    minerals 

found  ? 

The  cooling  glohe. 
Locate  Mono  Lake. 


18  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

and  everywhere  we  went  we  had  to  scramble  over 
the  rough  rocks?  It  may  be  that  we  can  learn 
something  by  a  visit  to  a  lava  field  where  Nature 
has  not  yet  stretched  her  carpet  of  soil.  Lava  is  a 
part  of  the  stone  floor  which  was  so  hot  at  one 
time  that  it  melted  and  flowed  up  through  cracks 
in  the  crust  of  the  earth. 

Hundreds  of  years  ago,  near  Mono  Lake,  in 
Eastern  California,  some  of  this  red-hot  lava  ran 
out  and  spread  over  the  surface,  killing  and  bury- 
ing all  the  plants,  and  the  animals  that  could  not 
run  fast  enough  to  escape  it. 

It  looks  as  if  some  giant  had  poured  out  there 
a  large  kettle  of  thick  pudding;  but  instead  of 
being  good  to  eat,  it  was  made  of  melted  rock, 
which,  as  it  cooled,  became  so  hard  that  a  hammer 
was  needed  to  break  it. 

It  is  a  long  trip  across  the  mountains  to  the  lava- 
field,  but  at  last  we  come  in  sight  of  it, — an  im- 
mense stretch  of  bare  rock  with  green  forests  all 
around. 

We  climb  up  the  precipitous  side  of  the  lava, 
and  find,  on  reaching  the  top,  an  immense  rough 
plain  of  jagged  rocks  extending  away  in  front  as  far 
as  we  can  see.  There  is  not  a  tree  nor  bush  to  break 
the  desert-like  character  of  the  surface.  As  we  climb 
over  the  rough,  sharp-edged  rocks  we  can  hardly 
avoid  tearing  our  clothes  and  cutting  our  hands. 


THE    ROCK    FLOOR.  19 

It  is  the  most  lonesome  place  imaginable.  There 
are  not  even  any  little  blades  of  grass  growing  out 
of  the  cracks.  All  that  we  see  are  some  patches  of 
gray  moss,  clinging  here  and  there.  Even  the 
birds  and  ground  squirrels  are  absent,  for  there  is 
nothing  here  out  of  which  they  could  build  their 
nests.  Everything  looks  fresh  and  clean,  as  if  it 
had  just  come  out  of  the  shop. 

In  spite  of  care,  we  do  sometimes  slip  and  cut 
our  hands;  and  at  last,  tired  of  prying  around,  we 
sit  down  on  the  edge  of  the  lava  and  look  at  the 
large  pines  growing  in  the  soil  of  the  valley 
below. 

We  begin  to  wonder  at  the  meaning  of  what  we 
have  seen.  It  seems  that  the  earth  must  be  hot 
inside,  where  this  lava  came  from.  If  this  is  so, 
then  our  whole  world  was  hot  once,  even  the  out- 
side, where  the  grasses  and  trees  are  growing.  It 
must  have  crusted  over  at  last,  just  as  our  breakfast 
mush  cools  on  the  outside  first,  or  as  the  skim  of 
ice  forms  upon  the  pond  during  a  cold  night. 

The  rock  upon  which  we  sit  certainly  must  have 
been  in  the  fire,  for  it  looks  just  like  the  slag  which 
we  have  picked  up  about  the  furnaces  where  iron  is 
being  melted.  We  try  to  imagine  how  the  whole 
country  would  look  if  it  were  covered  with  such 
lava.  We  would  find  only  hard  rough  rocks  wher- 
ever we  went.  There  would  be  precipices,  deep 


20  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

holes,  caverns,  and  cracks,  into  which  we  would  be 
in  continual  danger  of  falling. 

It  would  rain  as  it  does  now,  and  the  streams 
tumble  over  the  rocks,  as  they  hastened  to  the  sea. 
The  mountains  would  be  white  with  snow  in  the 
winter  time,  but  we  would  miss  the  spring,  the 
green  spring  with  its  flowers,  and  the  fall  with  its 
brightly  tinted  leaves.  It  would  make  no  difference 
how  much  it  rained;  nothing  could  grow  without 
soil. 

The  picture  is  such  a  dreary  one  that  we  stop 
thinking  about  it,  for  we  could  not  live  in  a  world 
of  bare  rocks  and  stones.  Without  the  soil  there 
could  be  no  pretty  little  meadows,  and  without  the 
plants  which  grow  upon  the  meadows,  no  animals 
could  live.  It  would  be  a  dead  world. 

The  whole  world  once  looked  just  like  our  lava 
field,  but  that  was  so  long  ago  that  a  great  many 
changes  have  taken  place.  The  stone  floor  which 
we  now  see  is  not  all  lava.  Along  the  ocean  beach, 
and  in  the  beds  of  the  rippling  brooks,  we  see 
pebbles  of  many  colors,  telling  us  of  the  different 
kinds  of  rocks  in  the  hard  floor  under  us.  There 
are  so  many  that  it  would  take  a  long  time  to  learn 
all  about  them. 

The  stone  which  is  used  for  the  walls  of  build- 
ings comes  from  this  floor.  It  is  dug  from  large 
holes  in  the  ground  called  quarries.  All  the  beau- 


THE  ROCK   FLOOR.  21 

tiful  stones  which  are  used  for  jewelry  also  come 
from  the  rock  floor.  They  are  rough,  when  first 
obtained,  and  have  to  be  cut  and  polished. 

Iron  and  copper  are  among  the  most  useful  of 
the  minerals  found  in  the  rock  floor,  but  we  think 
the  most  of  gold  and  silver.  We  should  feel  very 
awkward  without  many  of  these  things  which  are 
dug  out  of  the  rocks,  and  we  are  glad  that  the  soil 
does  not  cover  them  all  up. 

The  mantle  of  soil  furnishes  the  necessary  things 
of  life,  and  so  makes  it  possible  for  us  to  live  here; 
but  the  rock  floor  supplies  not  only  many  useful 
things,  as  we  have  seen,  but,  in  the  mountains,  sur- 
rounds us  with  grand  and  beautiful  scenery.  It 
makes  our  lives  more  happy. 

In  the  great  plains  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  the 
rock  floor  is  buried  out  of  sight.  The  people  living 
there  do  not  know  the  pleasure  of  a  home  in  the 
mountains,  where  the  great  rocks  stand  high  in 
the  air,  and  the  rains  and  dashing  streams  have 
carved  them  into  all  sorts  of  grand  and  rugged 
cliffs. 

In  another  lesson  we  shall  see  how  the  soil  was 
formed,  and  at  last  covered  up  so  much  of  the  rock 
floor. 


22  WESTERN   SERIES  OF   READERS. 

BLACKBOARD     WORDS. 

Precipice  (preVi-pis),  necessary  (ngs'Ss-sa-ry),  furnishes 
(fur'nish-ez),  quarries  (kwor'riz),  imaginable  (im-aj'i-na-ble), 
Mississippi  (mis'is-ip'i). 


Precipice  =  a  steep  place,  a  cliff. 

Quarry  =  a  place  where  stone  is  dug  out  of  the  earth. 

Jagged  =  rough. 

Crust  =  a  hard  covering. 


HOW  THE  SOIL  IS  FORMED. 


|E  learned  from  the  lava  field  that 
there  was  a  time,  when  our  world 
was  a  good  deal  younger  than  it 
is  now,  when  there  was  no  soil 
upon  its  surface.  The  great  oceans, 
and  rivers,  and  bare  rocks,  were 

all  there  was  to  be  seen. 

Perhaps  Dame  Nature  grew  tired  of  such  a  barren 

world.     However  that  may  be,  she  at  last  covered 

up  all  but  the  roughest  places  with  a  smooth  carpet. 

It  was  such  slow  work  that  I  fear  we  would  have 

become  weary  if  we  had  been  compelled  to  watch 

her.     Look  out  upon   the  pretty  valley  and   see 

how  smooth  and  level  she 

made  the  ground,  and  then 

turn  toward  the  mountains 

where  the  great  rocks  rise 

to  the  sky,  and  you  will  see 

where  she  has  not  yet  been 

able  to  spread  the  carpet  of 

soil. 
How    did    she    do    this 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 
The  earth  without  soil. 
How  soil  forms. 
"Work     of     animals     in 

forming:  soil. 
Residual  soil. 
Soil  in  valleys. 
Work  of  the  streams  in 

removing  soil. 


23 


HOW  THE  SOIL  IS   FORMED.  25 

work,  and  where  did  she  get  the  soil  ?  It  will  help 
us  to  understand  these  things,  if  we  look  again, 
after  many  hundreds  of  years  have  passed,  at  the 
lava  field  near  Mono  Lake. 

Generations  of  the  great  pines  have  grown  up 
and  died,  when  we  again  cross  the  mountains  to 
the  field  of  lava.  How  different  everything  looks. 
We  have  much  trouble  in  finding  the  place. 

The  lava  is  no  longer  rough  and  bare,  and  only  in 
a  few  places  are  there  any  rocks  standing  up  from  its 
surface.  A  soft,  dark  mantle  of  soil  covers  all  the  rest. 
Tall  pines  stand  upon  the  soil,  and  send  their  roots 
down  through  it  into  the  crevices  of  the  lava  below  it. 

In  the  side  of  a  ravine  we  see  what  the  soil  is 
made  of,  and  how  it  covers  the  lava.  On  the  surface 
there  is  a  dark  layer  of  decaying  leaves  and  stems, 
forming  leaf-mold;  and  below  it  a  dark,  rich,  clayey 
soil,  with  no  fragments  of  the  rock  in  it.  Farther 
down  it  is  almost  a  pure  brownish  clay,  with  only  a 
few  roots  running  here  arid  there.  This  is  the  sub- 
soil. Below  the  subsoil,  and  near  the  bottom,  there 
are  fragments  of  the  lava  which  crumble  as  we  dig 
them  out. 

Under  the  subsoil  lies  the  lava,  which  is  soft  and 
crumbling  at  the  top;  but  in  the  bottom  of  the 
ravine,  where  the  water  has  washed  off  the  decayed 
lava,  it  is  as  hard  as  it  was  upon  the  surface  so 
many  years  before. 


26  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

We  can  also  see  in  the  sides  of  the  ravine  how 
the  roots  of  the  trees  have  grown  downward  into 
the  cracks  in  the  lava,  and  gradually  shoved  the 
pieces  apart. 

Year  after  year,  ever  since  the  lava  first  cooled, 
the  rain  and  frost  and  air  have  been  at  work.  For 
a  long  time  they  did  not  seem  to  accomplish  much, 
but  there  are  many  things  going  on  in  the  world 
which  we  cannot  see. 

The  water  ran  into  the  cracks,  and  as  it  froze 
during  the  winter  forced  the  masses  of  rock  apart. 
The  fragments  finally  crumbled  and  turned  to  a 
clay-like  mass  which  formed  a  coating  over  the 
rocks. 

Little  by  little,  the  seeds  of  different  plants  were 
carried  to  the  lava  field,  either  by  the  birds  and 
squirrels,  or  borne  upon  the  wind.  Many  of  them, 
falling  upon  the  crumbling  rock  where  there  was 
a  little  moisture,  sent  their  tiny  roots  down  into  the 
cracks,  and  managed  to  live  for  a  short  time.  When 
they  died,  their  leaves  and  stems  enriched  the  soft- 
ened rock,  and  so,  year  by  year,  made  the  surface 
more  fit  for  larger  plants. 

Trees  grew  up  at  last,  and  shaded  the  soil,  so  that 
the  moisture  did  not  dry  out  so  fast,  and  when  the 
trees  died,  they  added  their  rotting  trunks  to  the 
soil. 

Then  the  ground  squirrels  came  and  burrowed  in 


HOW   THE   SOIL   IS   FORMED.  27 

the  soft  material,  turning  it  over  and  over,  bringing 
fragments  of  rock  to  the  surface,  where  the  frost 
made  them  crumble  into  still  smaller  pieces. 

Many  other  animals  made  their  homes  in  this 
gathering  soil.  Among  them  were  the  earthworms, 
which  we  see  stretched  upon  the  ground  after  a  rain. 
They  are  stirring  the  soil  all  the  time,  and  loosen- 
ing it  up  so  that  the  air  can  get  into  it. 

The  ants  also  are  doing  their  part,  as  they  tunnel 
through  the  earth,  and  bring  the  little  particles  to 
the  surface.  There  are,  in  addition,  some  very 
small  animals,  which  we  can  see  only  when  they 
are  placed  under  the  microscope.  They  are  called 
bacteria.  Every  handful  of  earth  contains  thou- 
sands of  them.  They  are  very  necessary  in  fitting 
the  soil  so  that  the  roots  of  plants  can  make  use 
of  it. 

The  soil  which  forms  over  the  rock  floor  in  this 
way  is  called  residual  soil.  The  brooks  are  wash- 
ing away  particles  all  the  time,  and  this  soil  is 
what  is  left. 

The  soil  in  the  valleys  is  formed  in  a  different 
way.  The  tiny  particles  of  sand  and  clay  of  which 
it  is  composed  have,  in  many  cases,  been  borne 
miles  by  the  rivers,  and  ocean  currents.  All  of  the 
rock  floor  which  we  see  in  the  mountains  is  soften- 
ing and  crumbling  upon  the  surface  just  as  the  lava- 
bed  did. 


28  WESTERN  SERIES  OF  READERS. 

The  raindrops  wash  the  particles  from  the 
mountain  slopes  into  the  brooks,  and  they  in  turn 
carry  them  to  the  rivers.  The  latter  leave  them  at 
last  either  in  the  marshes  near  their  mouths,  or 
bear  them  out  to  the  ocean. 

This  is  what  the  Sacramento  River  is  doing  year 
after  year,  as  it  pours  its  muddy  flood  through  San 
Francisco  Bay  into  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

We  will  dip  up  a  glassful  of  the  dirty  yellow 
water,  and  see  what  happens  when  it  becomes  quiet. 
In  a  few  hours  the  water  is  clear,  while  upon  the 
bottom  of  the  glass  is  a  thin  layer  of  mud. 

Each  spring  the  Sacramento  overflows  its  banks, 
and  covers  the  lowlands.  When  the  river  becomes 
smaller  and  the  water  runs  off  the  meadows,  there 
is  left  everywhere  a  thin  layer  of  mud.  In  this 
way  the  soil  of  the  level  bottom  lands  has  been 
formed.  Grasses  grow  upon  it,  and  animals  bur- 
row in  it,  finally  leaving  it  dark  and  rich. 

We  have  already  seen  how  necessary  the  soil  is  to 
our  existence.  Plants  cannot  grow  without  it,  and 
without  the  plants  there  could  be  no  animals. 

We  have  also  seen  that  it  takes  Nature  many 
years  to  cover  the  bare  rocks  with  this  rich  carpet. 
These  things  should  make  us  careful  when  we 
plough  and  dig  in  it,  that  we  do  not  leave  it  so  the 
rains  can  carry  it  away.  We  should  not  permit 
the  grasses  and  trees  upon  the  hills  to  be  killed,  for 


HOW   THE   SOIL   IS   FORMED.  29 

their  roots  hold  the  soil.      The  soil  in  turn  holds 
the  moisture. 

In  the  mountains  of  the  desert  there  are  few 
plants,  and  the  soil  is  washed  away  as  fast  as  it  is 
formed,  leaving  the  rocks  almost  bare. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Lava   (la'va),  moisture   (mois'tur),    enriched    (6n-rlcht'), 
burrow  (bur'ro),  plough  (plou). 


Lava  =  melted  rock  from  a  volcano. 

Generation  —  those  living  at  one  period. 

Ravine  =  a  deep,  narrow  hollow  worn  out  by  running  water. 

Subsoil  =  the  soil  beneath  the  surface  soil. 

Marsh  =  soft,  wet  ground. 

Burrow  =  to  dig  a  hole  in  the  ground. 


A  HANDFUL  OF  SAND. 


HAVE  here  a  handful  of  clean,  white 
sand,  scraped  up  from  the  beach.  It  is 
the  sand  which  the  children  so  delight  to 
play  in,  and  which  never  soils  their 
IT.  clothes. 

It  is  the  same  kind  of  sand  that 
they  use  to  make  mountains  and  hills  in  their 
geography  studies. 

Sand  is  not  only  nice  to  play  in,  but  it  is  useful 
in  many  ways.  Glass  is  made  of  it,  and  the  plas- 
terer mixes  it  with  lime  to  form  the  mortar  with 
which  he  lays  the  bricks,  and  plasters  the  walls  of 
our  houses. 

What  is  the  history  of  the  little  grains  which  the 
winds  blow  in    our    faces, 
and    the  Vaves   wash    up 
and  down  the  beach  ? 

Examine  these  grains 
with  a  pocket  microscope 
and  you  will  see  that  the}r 
are  clear  like  glass  and 
quite  smooth.  They  have 


REFERENCE  TOPICS. 

Origin  of  sand. 
Composition  of  granite. 
Crumbling  of  granite. 
How   the  saiid  reached 

the  ocean. 
Sorting  the  components 

of    the     crumbling 

granite. 


31 


32  WESTEKN   SERIES  OF   READERS. 

been  thrown  about  by  the  waves,  and  rubbed  upon 
each  other,  until  all  the  sharp  points  are  gone. 

We  will  call  them  quartz  grains  and  the  sand, 
quartz  sand. 

Very  long  ago  these  grains  of  sand  formed  a  part 
of  a  granite  mountain.  The  mountain  was  high 
and  rugged  and  stood  upon  the  border  of  what  is 
now  one  of  the  deserts  of  Southern  California. 

Now  the  mountain  is  nearly  gone,  and  the  little 
grains  of  which  it  was  composed  are  scattered  far 
and  wide. 

The  picture  before  us  shows  a  low  hill  in  the 
desert.  It  is  the  heart  of  the  old  mountain,  and  is 
all  that  is  left  of  it.  How  beautifully  it  tells  the 
story  of  what  Nature  is  always  doing.  She  is  tear- 
ing the  rocks  down  in  one  place,  and  building  them 
up  again  in  another. 

One  lone  granite  pillar  stands  in  the  center  of  the 
hill.  Lying  about  on  all  sides  are  the  great  blocks 
of  granite  which  have  broken  off  and  tumbled  down 
the  sides  of  the  hill. 

These  blocks  are  still  hard,  and  if  you  should  hit 
them  with  a  heavy  hammer  they  would  not  break. 
Those  farthest  from  the  hill,  which  have  lain  on 
the  ground  for  a  long  time,  are  crumbling  to  little 
grains,  which  will  form  a  part  of  the  desert  sands. 

Scrape  up  some  of  the  sand,  and  look  at  it  care- 
fully. It  consists  mostly  of  grains  of  quartz  like 


A   HANDFUL   OF    SAND.  33 

those  upon  the  seashore,  only  they  have  sharp 
angles  instead  of  being  rounded.  Among  the 
quartz  grains  are  some  little  black  scales  and  par- 
ticles of  clay. 

With  a  hammer  you  can  soon  crush  a  piece  of 
the  granite  to  sand.  Nature  did  not  go  to  work  in 
that  way.  She  is  very  quiet,  and  it  takes  her  many 
years  to  make  great  changes. 

Let  us  look  at  a  piece  of  the  granite,  to  see  what 
it  is  made  of,  and  then,  perhaps,  we  can  understand 
how  it  crumbles  to  sand. 

The  clear,  glassy  grains  which  you  cannot  scratch 
with  a  knife,  are  the  quartz  about  which  we  have 
been  talking. 

The  shining  black  mineral  which  you  can  dig 
out  in  thin  scales  with  the  point  of  a  knife  is  called 
mica.  You  have  all  seen  it  in  the  windows  of 
stoves.  The  mica  is  used  there  because  it  is  not 
easily  broken  or  affected  by  the  heat. 

You  will  notice  also  some  grains  of  another  min- 
eral, which  is  nearly  white,  but  not  as  clear  as  the 
quartz.  This  mineral  has  little  faces,  which  reflect 
the  light,  and  it  can  be  scratched  a  little  with  the 
knife.  It  is  called  feldspar. 

Now  let  us  see,  if  we  can,  how  Nature  changes  a 
piece  of  solid  granite  to  sand. 

When  the  mountain  of  granite  stood  where  the 
hill  does  now,  there  were  narrow  cracks  running  all 


34  WESTERN  SERIES  OF   READERS. 

through  it.  They  were  just  like  those  which  can 
be  seen  in  the  granite  in  the  picture,  if  you  ex- 
amine it  closely. 

The  rains  soaked  into  the  cracks,  and  the  roots 
of  the  bushes  and  trees  penetrated  them.  As  the 
roots  grew  larger,  they  pried  the  masses  of  granite 
apart,  just  as  a  man  would  do  with  a  bar.  The 
loose  pieces  finally  rolled  down  the  mountain  side. 

As  we  have  seen,  every  piece  of  granite  is  com- 
posed of  three  different  minerals, —  the  quartz,  the 
feldspar,  and  the  mica.  As  the  sun  shone  upon  the 
granite  it  made  it  warm,  and  each  grain  expanded  a 
very  little.  At  night,  when  it  was  cool,  the  grains  con- 
tracted. In  this  way  they  became  loosened,  and  after 
a  long  time  slowly  fell  apart,  forming  sand. 

This  is  Nature's  way  of  tearing  down  a  moun- 
tain. It  is  very  slow,  but  if  you  could  live  long 
enough  you  could  see  how  much  she  accomplishes. 

The  little  brooks  which  used  to  run  by  the 
granite  mountain  had  plenty  to  do.  As  the  granite 
crumbled,  the  feldspar  became  soft,  and  turned  to 
clay.  The  brooks  picked  up  the  particles  of  clay  first, 
but  they  made  themselves  muddy  in  doing  so.  They 
could  not  get  rid  of  the  mud  which  the  clay  made, 
and  so  had  to  carry  it  to  the  ocean. 

The  water  also  washed  the  scales  of  mica  along 
very  easily.  Look  in  some  brook  on  a  summer  day, 
and  you  will  see  the  shining  scales  of  mica  moving 


A   HANDFUL   OF   SAND.  35 

along  on  the  bottom  with  the  current.  Perhaps  the 
brook  is  carrying  them  from  some  mountain  which 
is  now  being  torn  down.  The  most  of  the  little 
scales  will  not  stop  until  they  reach  the  ocean. 

It  was  not  so  easy  to  move  the  grains  of  quartz, 
but  the  brooks  did  it  when  the  rains  fell,  and  they 
rushed  along  more  swiftly. 

The  clay  and  the  mica  scales  were  carried  far  out 
into  the  ocean,  where  the  water  was  quiet,  and  then 
fell  to  the  bottom. 

The  quartz  grains  were  not  carried  out  so  far,  and 
the  waves  piled  them  up  on  the  beach.  The  waves 
never  tired  of  playing  with  the  sand.  They  turned 
the  grains  over  and  over,  and  ground  them  together, 
until  they  were  perfectly  smooth. 

You  see  now  how  the  ocean  sorted  the  different 
minerals  in  the  granite.  It  put  the  clay  and  mica 
scales  in  one  place,  and  the  quartz  grains  in  another. 
The  work  is  not  always  done  so  well,  for  along  some 
ocean  shores  the  clay  and  mica  and  quartz  are  all 
mixed  together. 

When  the  waves  have  done  with  the  grains  of 
sand,  and  thrown  them  up  high  on  the  beach,  the 
wind  takes  a  hand.  It  picks  them  up  and  whirls 
them  through  the  air  as  it  does  the  snowflakes. 

What  do  you  suppose  will  become  of  the  granite 
pillar  which  is  all  that  remains  of  the  mountain 
about  which  we  have  been  talking?  It  seems  to 


36  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

defy  the  rains  and  the  frost,  but  by  and  by  it  also 
will  fall,  and  crumble  to  sand.  Then  there  will  be 
nothing  left  to  tell  of  the  mountain  but  a  small 
mound  of  sand  in  the  desert. 

The  forces  of  the  weather  never  rest.  They  are 
tearing  down  all  the  mountains  around  us.  Although 
the  carpet  of  soil  in  which  the  trees  and  grasses  grow 
protects  the  rocks  in  many  places,  yet  they  are  crum- 
bling and  decaying  in  spite  of  it. 

After  a  time  the  mountains  will  all  disappear,  if 
something  does  not  lift  them  up  again. 

We  love  the  wild  rocks,  and  do  not  like  to  think 
of  their  being  torn  down ;  but  we  must  be  content, 
because  their  materials  are  necessary  to  make  the 
soil. 


BLACKBOARD  WORDS. 

Microscope  (mi'kro-skop),  mica  (mi'ka),  feldspar  (feld'- 
sparO,  defy  (de-ff),  decay  (de-ka'). 


Granite  =  a  rock,  composed  of  quartz,  feldspar,  and  mica. 
Quartz  =  a  hard,  glassy  mineral. 

Feldspar  =  a  constituent  of  rocks.    Clay  is  formed  from  feld- 
spar. 

Mica  =  a  mineral  separable  into  thin  flexible  plates. 
Scale  =  a  thin  layer  of  any  substance. 
Mound  =  a  little  hill. 
Pillar  =  an  upright  support;  a  column. 


THE   WORK   OF  THE  WIND. 


HERE  are  many  different  forces 
at  work  around  us.  The  world 
is  never  free  from  them,  although 
they  go  about  their  business  so 
quietly  we  cease  to  notice  them. 

The  frost,   the    raindrops,    the 
river,   and   the   ocean  waves   are 
all  doing  something  toward  level- 
ing the  surface  of  the  earth. 

The  wind  also  has  a  share  in  the  changes  which 

are  going  on.     It  is  different  from  the  other  forces, 

in  that  it  builds  up  hills  as  well  as  causes  them  to 

be  worn  away. 

When  the  trees  are  bending  before  the  storm,  and 

the  great  breakers  are  coming  in  from  the  ocean, 

we  see  what  power  the  air 

has  as  it  rushes  along. 
We    realize    still    better 

what   the  wind  can  do   if 

we    try    to    face    it.     The 

grains   of  sand,  and    even 

small     pebbles      scattered 

37 


REFERENCE  TOPICS. 

Various  ways  In  which 
the  -wind  works. 

Sand  storms. 

The     effects     of 
sand. 

Sand-dtmes. 


flying 


THE  WORK   OP   THE   WIND.  39 

over  the  ground,  are  picked  up  by  the  wind  and 
thrown  in  our  faces  with  such  force  as  to  make 
the  flesh  tingle  with  pain. 

The  wind  does  work  then.  It  uses  the  sand  to 
grind  down  the  bare  mountains  in  the  deserts. 
When  it  is  through  with  the  sand  for  a  while,  it 
piles  it  up  into  great  hills,  called  dunes. 

The  most  of  us  have  seen  the  dust  storms,  when  a 
"  norther  "  is  blowing.  The  sky  is  yellow,  and  the  sun 
almost  hidden  by  the  flying  dust  and  sand.  It  gets 
into  the  tightest  houses,  and  settles  on  everything. 

In  the  deserts  the  sand  storms  are  furious  things, 
for  there  is  nothing  to  break  the  sweep  of  the  wind. 
In  the  deserts  of  Arabia  and  Northern  Africa, 
people  are  sometimes  smothered  and  buried  in  the 
sand  storms. 

After  feeling  the  powerful  blows  of  the  little 
grains  upon  one's  face,  it  is  not  hard  to  understand 
how  mountains  can  be  worn  away  by  them. 

In  the  deserts  the  rocks  have  but  little,  if  any, 
covering,  and  the  winds  blow  much  of  the  time. 
With  the  wind  behind  them,  the  little  grains 
are  forever  chasing  each  other  over  the  surface.  If 
any  rocks  get  in  the  way,  they  have  to  suffer. 
Each  grain  is  a  chisel  in  the  grasp  of  the  wind,  and 
every  time  one  strikes,  it  takes  a  very  small  bit  of 
the  rock  away  with  it.  The  rocks  are  thus  sculp- 
tured into  all  sorts  of  pinnacles  and  grooves. 


40  WESTERN  SERIES  OF  HEADERS. 

The  sand  plays  strange  freaks  sometimes.  Along 
the  railroad,  in  the  Colorado  Desert,  it  cuts  into  the 
telegraph  poles  until  they  are  worn  through. 

The  beautifully  polished  pebbles  which  are  scat- 
tered over  the  desert  owe  their  shining  surfaces  to 
the  blows  of  thousands  of  grains  of  sand,  which  are 
always  moving  along  the  ground  when  the  wind 
blows. 

In  some  portions  of  the  Colorado  Desert  the  wind 
has  piled  the  sand  into  great  dunes.  They  do  not 
stay  in  one  place,  as  hills  usually  do,  but  move 
across  the  country  in  the  direction  in  which  the 
wind  generally  blows.  They  march  in  ranks,  like 
an  army,  destroying  everything  in  their  path. 

The  dunes  are  formed  in  the  same  manner  as 
snowdrifts,  and  are  shaped  exactly  like  them.  The 
sand  drifts  upon  the  railroad  tracks  as  the  snow 
does  in  the  winter  in  the  mountains,  so  that  trains 
are  stopped  until  it  can  be  shoveled  off. 

The  work  of  the  wind  in  forming  dunes  is 
most  frequently  to  be  seen  along  the  ocean.  For 
miles  and  miles  the  ocean  waves  break  upon  a 
cushion  of  sand.  The  rivers  have  brought  some  of 
the  sand  from  the  far  mountains.  Some  of  it  the 
waves  themselves  have  made,  as  they  ceaselessly 
hammer  the  pebbles  upon  each  other. 

Each  breaker  lifts  the  grains  of  sand,  whirls  them 
around,  and  throws  them  up  the  sloping  beach. 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   WIND.  41 

Some  are  left  high  and  dry,  above  the  reach  of  the 
succeeding  waves.  Then,  as  soon  as  they  are  dry, 
the  wind  takes  them  in  charge.  It  rolls  them  over 
and  over,  or  carries  them  bodily  through  the  air, 
and  finally  piles  them  up  in  those  great  drifts, 
which  we  have  called  dunes. 

As  our  picture  shows,  each  dune  is  long  and  nar- 
row, and  looks  exactly  like  a  snowdrift,  even  to 
the  little  ripples  upon  its  surface.  The  manner 
in  which  the  dunes  travel  is  as  follows:  the  wind 
picks  up  the  grains  of  sand  on  that  side  of  the  dune 
from  which  it  blows,  and  carries  them  over  the  top. 
As  soon  as  they  reach  a  point  which  is  protected 
from  the  wind,  they  are  dropped.  Thus  they  suc- 
ceed each  other,  as  the  dune  slowly  moves  inland 
from  the  beach. 

Nothing  can  stop  the  march  of  the  dunes. 
Bushes,  trees,  and  green  meadows  are  buried  under 
the  barren  sand.  The  orrly  way  in  which  dunes 
can  be  held  is  to  get  bushes  or  grass  to  grow  upon 
their  surfaces.  Then  the  wind  can  no  longer  get 
hold  of  the  sand. 

On  some  coasts,  the  sand-dunes  have  overwhelmed 
whole  farms,  and  even  villages.  If  a  village  stands 
in  the  way  of  the  creeping  dunes,  the  people  have  to 
leave.  The  houses  are  buried,  and  all  traces  of  the 
village  disappear  for  years.  But,  as  the  dunes  con- 
tinually move,  the  houses  may  be  uncovered  in  time. 


42  WESTERN  SERIES  OF   READERS. 

What  a  dreary  sight  the  deserted  village  presents, 
with  the  broken  houses,  and  dead  trees  still  stand- 
ing in  front  of  them. 

Our  picture  shows  some  beautiful  dunes  upon  the 
edge  of  the  Salinas  River,  in  Monterey  Count}7. 
The  river  bottom  is  dry  in  the  summer,  and  the 
winds  have  drifted  the  sand  over  the  bushes  and 
trees. 


BLACKBOARD   WORDS. 

Realize  (re'al-iz),  tingle  (tm'g'l),  dune  (dun),  sculpture 
(skulp'tur),  pinnacle  (pin'-na-k'l),  overwhelm  (6'ver-hwelm'j. 


*•  Norther  "=  a  heavy  wind  from  the  north. 
Chisel  =  a  tool  with  a  cutting  edge  on  one  end. 
Overwhelm  =  to  cover  over  completely. 
Sculpture  =•  to  carve  or  cut. 
Pinnacle  =  a  high,  sharp  point. 


A  CURIOUS  CALIFORNIA  RIVER. 


OME  of  our  California  rivers  have 
strange  ways.  They  do  not  act  as 
rivers  ordinarily  do.  They  seem 
to  flow  bottom-side  up.  Ordinary 
rivers  run  upon  the  top  of  the 
ground  and  become  larger  toward 
their  mouths. 
These  curious  rivers  are  found  in  portions  of 

California  where  the  rainfall  is  light,  and  they  have 

to  run  a  long  distance  to  reach  the  sea. 

The  Salinas  River  is  one  of  them.     As  we  study 

the  map  of  California,  this  river  appears  to  be  one 

of  the  longest   and    most    important   streams    in 

the  Coast  Ranges.     If  you 

should    start    out    in    the 

summer  time   to  look  for 

this  river    you    would    be 

disappointed.  You  can  find 

the  Salinas  Valley  easily 

enough,  but  where  is   the 

river? 

There,  where  it  ought  to 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Characters    of  ordinary 

rivers. 
Behavior    of    rivers    in 

dry  regions. 
Salinas  River. 
Effects  of  summer  heat. 
How  the  sand  preserves 

the  water.  *  * 


43 


I ' J  1 1  bi  \ 


i   '« 

»  V 

'LL& 


A    CURIOUS    CALIFORNIA    RIVER.  45 

be,  is  a  winding  channel  of  sand,  reaching  as  far 
as  you  can  see.  High  clay  banks  shut  in  the  bed 
of  sand,  which  is  half  a  mile  wide.  It  must  be  the 
river  bottom,  although  there  is  apparently  no 
water  in  it.  Every  few  miles  it  is  spanned  by 
long  iron  bridges,  so  that  it  must  be  that  water 
flows  here  sometimes. 

What  then,  has  become  of  the  river  ?  Its  bed  is 
so  dry  that  the  afternoon  sea  breezes  which  sweep 
up  the  valley  and  across  its  surface,  blow  the  sand 
into  great  drifts.  .:  •-• 

The  sand  in  the  bed  of  this  apparently  dry  river 
is  very  deep.  If  you  should  dig  down  a  few  feet  it 
would  become  moist,  and  a  little  farther,  you  would 
meet  water.  Now  you  have  found  the  river.  How 
strange !  The  sand,  which  is  usually  at  the  bottom, 
is  on  the  top.  The  river  is  actually  flowing  through 
the  sand,  instead  of  on  the  surface.  Why  does  it 
do  this  ?  The  reason  is  very  simple. 

During  the  long  dry  summers  the  hot  sun  dries 
up  so  much  of  the  water  that  there  is  not  enough 
to  rise  above  the  sand,  which  is  piled  deep  in  the 
bed.  of  the  river. 

The  sand  is  like  a  sponge,  because  it  absorbs  a 
large  amount  of  water.  As  the  little  grains  are  not 
packed  tightly  together,  there  are  little  empty 
spaces  about  each  one.  Through  these  spaces  the 
river  slowly  passes  down  its  sloping  bed  to  the  sea. 


46  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

In  the  winter  the  storms  are  frequently  severe, 
and  floods  of  water  are  brought  by  all  the  rivulets 
to  the  main  river.  Then  the  flood  sweeps  down 
the  channel,  washing  down  its  banks  until  it  forms 
a  broad  sandy  bed. 

Far  away  in  the  gulches  are  hidden  the  little 
springs  which  feed  the  river  during  the  summer. 
The  grasses  and  ferns  shade  them,  while  over- 
head bend  the  pines  and  oaks,  and  the  hot  sun  can- 
not get  at  them. 

Farther  down  the  slopes,  the  springs  unite  in  the 
rivulets  which  run  more  slowly,  and  are  in  many 
places  open  to  the  sun. 

These  little  streams  at  last  unite  in  the  main 
river  which,  for  a  time,  runs  over  a  rocky  bed  be- 
tween the  hills. 

Soon  the  banks  become  more  open;  the  hills 
leave  the  river,  and  a  broad  valley  takes  their  place. 
The  river  seems  to  hesitate  about  going  farther,  for 
there  are  no  longer  tall  trees  and  overhanging 
banks  to  protect  it  from  the  rays  of  the  greedy 
summer  sun.  With  what  intensity  they  beat  down 
through  the  long  days. 

The  river  seems  doomed,  for  it  would  all  be  gone 
long  before  reaching  the  sea  if  it  had  to  flow  over  the 
hard  rock  floor  which  it  had  among  the  hills. 

But  the  sand  comes  to  the  rescue.  The  little 
grains  of  sand,  which  the  river  has  been  trying  for 


A   CURIOUS   CALIFORNIA   RIVER. 

<^£S2^4^r- 

so  many  years  to  wash  out  of  its  bed  and  carry  to 
the  sea,  now  do  the  river  a  good  turn.  The  sand 
was  in  the  river's  way,  and  blocked  its  channel, 
when  it  swept  along  so  full  and  strong  in  the  winter. 
Now  the  river  is  glad  to  accept  its  protection. 

The  sand  has  buried  the  rock  floor  all  the  rest  of 
the  way  to  the  ocean.  Gladly  does  the  river  creep 
in  between  the  little  grains,  and  hide  itself  from 
the  sun.  It  looks  a  little  selfish  however,  for  now 
the  thirsty  cattle  follow  its  bed  for  miles,  hunting 
in  vain  for  some  water  to  drink.  They  are  fortu- 
nate if  they  at  last  find  a  little  spot  where  the  sand 
is  so  shallow  that  the  river  has  to  come  to  the  top. 
It  peeps  out  for  a  few  rods,  and  then  disappears 
again  in  the  sand. 

How  wise  Nature  seems  in  thus  preserving  the 
river,  which  would  otherwise  be  entirely  dried  up 
by  the  summer  heat.  It  furnishes  water  to  the 
people  who  live  along -its  banks,  who  would  other- 
wise have  trouble  in  getting  it.  Now  all  they  have 
to  do  is  to  dig  a  hole  in  the  sand  of  the  river  bed, 
and  there  they  find  plenty  of  pure,  cool  water. 

Although  the  river  flows  upon  the  top  of  the  sand 
for  only  a  little  time  each  year,  yet  the  bridges  are 
quite  necessary.  When  the  sand  is  full  of  water,  it 
forms  what  is  called  quicksand.  It  is  then  very  dan- 
gerous. A  team  will  sink  into  it  almost  as  quickly 
as  into  water,  and  it  is  very  hard  to  get  it  out. 


48  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

Where  the  sand  is  very  deep,  as  in  the  deserts,  it 
drinks  up  all  the  water  that  falls  and  never  gives  it 
back.  In  our  rivers  the  bedrock  keeps  the  water 
near  the  surface. 

As  the  days  become  cooler  in  the  fall,  the  air 
does  not  take  up  so  much  of  the  water,  and  a  little 
of  it  again  comes  to  the  top,  and  runs  over  the  sand. 
It  increases  until  the  first  heavy  rains  come,  when 
the  broad  winding  strip  of  sand  becomes  a  muddy 
torrent. 

Streams  in  South  America  which  head  in  the 
high  mountains,  and  flow  across  the  deserts,  have 
the  same  habit.  When  the  snows  begin  to  melt  on 
the  olistant  mountains,  the  people  go  out  to  watch 
for  the  coming  of  the  river.  When  it  does  come 
running  down  over  the  dry  sand  they  are  happy, 
for  without  the  water  there  would  be  no  crops  the 
coming  year. 


BLACKBOARD  WORD'S. 

Hesitate    (hez'i-tat),  intensity  (In-ten'sl-ty),    protection 
(pro-tek'-shun),  preserving  (pre-z6rv'ing),  irrigate  (ir'ri-gat). 


Coast  Ranges  =  a  series  of  mountain  ranges  bordering  the 

Pacific  Coast  of  the  United  States. 
Gulch =a  ravine,  or  deep  bed  of  a  torrent. 
Shallow  =  having  little  depth. 
Irrigate  =  to  moisten  land  by  means  of  a  stream  made  to  flow 

over  it. 


THE  STORY   OF  SAN  FRANCISCO  BAY. 


has    been   a 
long  time  making  Cali- 
fornia.     She   has   put  gold 
in  one  place,  and  silver  in 
another.     She  has  lifted  up 
mountains,  and  torn  them  down  again. 

She  has  buried  the  Coast  Ranges  under  the  ocean, 
and  then  raised  them  up  again  as  though  she  en- 
joyed the  sport. 

She  has  turned  things  upside   down   so   many 
times  that  we  are  not  quite  sure  she  will  not  do  it 
again.     How     strange     it 
would    be    if    we     should 
wake    up     some    morning 
and    find    San    Francisco 
Bay    dry    land.     Stranger 
things  than  that  have  hap- 
pened here. 

Can  you  picture  to  your- 
selves how  San  Francisco 
Bay  would  look  if  there 
were  no  water  in  it;  if 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Former  condition  of  San 
Francisco  Bay. 

Trace  on  the  map  the 
old  course  of  the  Sac- 
ramento River. 

Submerged  valley  in 
Monterey  Bay. 

Bay  filling  up. 

Location  of  cities. 

Islands  in  the  bay. 


THE   STORY   OF   SAN   FRANCISCO    BAY.  51 

the  fertile  valleys  which  surround  it  extended  all 
over  it? 

There  would  be  room  for  many  farms,  and  quan- 
tities of  vegetables  could  be  raised.  However,  they 
might  not  find  sale,  for  if  there  were  no  bay 
here,  there  would  be  no  city  of  San  Francisco. 
There  would  be  no  Golden  Gate,  with  the  ships 
sailing  in  and  out  past  the  lighthouses  and  the 
foghorns. 

This  is  the  way  it  really  was  many  years  ago. 
The  land  was  much  higher,  and  the  Sacramento 
River  flowed  where  the  bay  now  is.  Did  the  river 
empty  into  the  ocean  where  the  Golden  Gate  is  ? 
We  will  answer  the  question  by  asking  if  it  could 
have  flowed  anywhere  else,  if  some  giant  had  built 
a  great  dam  across  the  mouth  of  the  bay  ? 

There  is,  indeed,  another  way.  It  is  through  the 
Santa  Clara  Valley,  past  the  city  of  San  Jose.  This 
broad  valley  is  only  slightly  raised  above  the  level 
of  the  ocean,  and  extends  south  to  the  Paj.aro  River, 
which  flows  into  the  bay  of  Monterey. 

The  Santa  Clara  Valley  is  so  nearly  level  that,  as 
you  ride  through  it  on  the  cars,  it  is  hard  to  tell 
just  where  the  highest  point  is.  On  the  north,  the 
streams  flow  into  San  Francisco  Bay.  On  the  south, 
they  unite  with  the  Pajaro  River  and  so  reach 
Monterey  Bay. 

You  can  see  now  that  if  the  mouth  of  San  Fran- 


52  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

cisco  Bay  were  dammed  up,  the  Sacramento  could 
easily  flow  south  into  Monterey  Bay.  What  a 
strange  sight  it  would  be  to  see  this  large  river 
flowing  past  Oakland  and  Alameda,  and  through 
the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  where  the  city  of  San  Jose* 
now  stands. 

You  know  from  the  geography  the  shape  of  Mon- 
terey Bay,  and  where  the  Pajaro  and  Salinas  rivers 
flow  into  it.  It  has  been  discovered  by  soundings 
that  there  is  a  great  valley  extending  east  and  west 
through  the  bay,  but  entirely  buried  by  the  ocean. 

It  is  believed  that  when  the  land  was  higher,  and 
Monterey  Bay  was  dry  land,  that  a  large  river 
flowed  through  this  valley.  You  can  easily  guess 
what  river  it  was.  It  was  that  which  we  call  the 
Sacramento. 

Then  a  time  came  when  the  coast  sank,  and  all 
the  lowlands  along  the  shore  were  flooded.  The 
sea,  of  course,  broke  through  the  Coast  Range  of 
mountains  at  the  lowest  point,  which  is  the  Golden 
Gate.  After  this  happened,  the  Sacramento  River 
did  not  have  to  flow  away  round  by  San  Jose'  and 
Monterey  to  get  into  the  ocean,  but  could  go  directly 
through  the  gap  made  in  the  hills  between  San 
Francisco  and  Sausalito. 

While  the  bay  region  was  dry  land,  several  hills 
rose  in  the  fertile  valley.  When  the  ocean  broke 
in  and  flooded  the  land,  the  hills  which  were 


THE   STORY   OF   SAN   FRANCISCO   BAY.  53 

not  entirely  covered  up,  formed  islands.  One  of 
these  we  call  Goat  Island,  another  Angel  Island, 
and  a  third,  Alcatraz  Island.  Those  hills  which 
were  just  covered  by  the  water,  formed  reefs.  The 
reefs  did  no  harm  to  the  canoes  of  the  Indians, 
but  when  the  great  ships  came  some  ran  onto  the 
rocks  and  were  injured. 

To  make  the  Golden  Gate  more  safe  for  ships  to 
pass  through,  these  rocks  will  have  to  be  blown  out. 

The  Sacramento  River,  and  the  smaller  streams 
which  flow  into  it,  are  continually  at  work  trying  to 
fill  up  the  bay.  They  do  this  by  the  aid  of  the  mud 
and  sand,  which  the  rains  wash  into  their  channels. 

Many  small  arms  of  the  bay  are  already  so  nearly 
filled  that  the  bottom  is  exposed  at  low  tide.  The 
marshes  back  of  the  mud  flats  are  high  enough  for 
a  kind  of  grass  to  grow  upon  them. 

The  long  wharves,  which  have  been  built  out  into 
the  bay,  break  the  currents  of  water  which  are  carry- 
ing mud  out  into  the  ocean,  and  more  of  it  settles  to 
the  bottom.  In  order  to  dig  out  this  mud,  which 
is  settling  all  the  time,  machines  called  dredgers 
have  been  built.  They  scoop  up  the  mud  from  the 
bottom,  and  so  keep  the  water  deep  enough  for  the 
great  ships. 

Man  is  helping  Nature  fill  up  San  Francisco  Bay, 
and  many  years  from  now  it  will  not  be  as  large  or 
as  deep. 


54  WESTERN  SERIES   OF   READERS. 

This  is  not  all  of  the  history  of  San  Francisco 
Bay.  Many  other  things  have  happened  here.  It 
was  once  so  deeply  buried  beneath  the  ocean  that  only 
the  tops  of  the  Berkeley  Hills,  Mount  Tamalpais, 
and  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  rose  above  the  water. 

The  ocean  extended  up  through  the  straits  of 
Carquinez,  past  Vallejo  and  Benicia.  The  San 
Joaquin  and  Sacramento  Valleys  formed  large,  deep 
bays  into  which  ships  could  have  sailed  if  there 
had  been  any  people  to  sail  them. 

Now  that  we  know  something  of  the  story  of  San 
Francisco  Bay,  we  may  wonder  why  the  great  city 
which  bears  the  same  name  was  built  here.  Did 
you  ever  think  that  we  cannot  build  a  city  any- 
where that  we  want  to?  We  have  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  way  in  which  Nature  has  arranged  the 
mountains,  valleys,  and  bays. 

If  California  had  been  discovered  and  settled  at 
a  time  when  San  Francisco  Bay  was  dry  land,  you 
may  be  sure  that  no  great  city  would  have  been 
built  here.  The  city  would  have  grown  up  where 
there  was  a  harbor  for  ships.  It  might  have  grown 
up  on  Monterey  Bay. 

Where  a  number  of  inland  streams  and  valleys 
unite  in  a  deep  and  protected  bay,  that  is  the  place 
for  a  great  city  to  be  built.  So  you  see  why  the 
largest  city  of  the  Pacific  Coast  has  grown  up  on 
San  Francisco  Bay. 


THE  STORY   OF   SAN   FRANCISCO   BAY. 


55 


The  bay  has  a  narrow  entrance,  and  is  well  pro- 
tected from  the  storms.  It  is  broad  and  deep,  and 
its  long  arms  reach  out  into  the  many  valleys  which 
converge  toward  it.  Nature  has  destined  it  to  be 
the  centre  of  trade  of  a  great  region. 

How  much  more  interest  the  bay  will  have  for 
us,  now  that  we  know  something  of  its  history. 


BLACKBOARD     WORDS. 

Vegetable  (vej'e-ta-b'l),  Pajaro  (pa'-ha-ro),  Sausalito 
(saw-sa-lee'to),  Alcatraz  (al-ka-traz'),  Tamalpais  (ta-maPpis), 
Vallejo  (val-la'ho),  Benicia  (be-nish'e-a),  Salinas  (sa-lee'nas), 
dredger  (drej'-er). 


Submerged  =under  water. 

Scoop  =  to  shovel,  or  dip  up  with  a  ladle. 

Sounding  =  ascertaining  the  depth  of  any  part  of  the  ocean. 

Reefs  =  Rocks  at  or  near  the  surface  of  the  water. 

Converge  =  to  approach  nearer  together. 

Destined  =  set  apart  for  a  use  or  purpose. 


AN  ANCIENT  OYSTER  BED. 


EAR  the  summit  of  the  Coast 
Ranges,  far  from  the  ocean,  I 
found  an  oyster  shell.  There  it 
lay  in  the  sandy  soil,  looking  so 
old  and  worn,  I  could  imagine 
that  hundreds  of  years  had 
passed  since  it  saw  the  ocean. 

Did  some  one  carry  it  there,  or  did  a  bird  bring 
it  from  the  seashore?  It  hardly  seemed  possible,  for 
there  are  none  like  it  upon  the  beach.  Besides, 
there  are  no  birds  living  now  which  could  carry  a 
shell  of  such  size. 

The  one  which  lay  before  me  seemed  a  giant  in 
comparison  with  those  in  the  market,  and  is  prop- 
erly   named     Ostrea    titan. 
The    oyster     which     once 
lived   in  this  shell  would 
have  made  a  whole  meal. 
A  half  dozen   of  the  com- 
mon oysters  would  hardly 
make  more  than  so  many 
mouthfuls. 

56 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

A  bed  of  fossil  sliells. 
Where  oysters  live. 
Picture   of  tlie   ancient 

oyster  bed. 
A  catastrophe. 
Elevation  of  sea  bottom. 


AN  ANCIENT   OYSTER   BED.  57 

If  you  had  ordered  some  oysters  in  a  restaurant, 
I  think  you  would  be  astonished  to  see  a  waiter 
corne  in,  carrying  a  single  big  oyster  upon  a  platter. 
Just  think  of  an  oyster  with  a  shell  a  foot  and  a 
half  long.  Such  a  big  fellow  would  have  to  be  carved 
like  a  piece  of  roast  beef.  . 

Many  such  oysters  must  have  lived  once  upon  a 
time,  for  on  looking  about  near  where  I  had  found  the 
first  one,  I  discovered  a  whole  bed  of  them.  They 
were  sticking  out  of  a  layer  of  hard  sand,  which  ex- 
tended along  the  top  of  a  low  hill. 

Where  the  rain  had  washed  the  dirt  away,  other 
and  smaller  shells  appeared.  There  were  scallops 
and  periwinkles,  and  clams  which  looked  very  much 
like  those  now  living  in  the  ocean. 

The  layer  of  sand  and  fossil  shells  looked  just 
like  an  old  sea  beach ;  but  how  did  it  come  here, 
high  in  the  mountains?  Oysters  do  not  live  in 
rivers  or  lakes.  They  are  found  only  in  the  salt 
water. 

The  Coast  Ranges  must  have  been  under  the  sea 
a  long  time  ago.  As  the  earth  was  raised  the 
water  ran  off,  and  the  place  where  the  shore  was  at 
that  time  is  now  many  miles  from  the  ocean. 

Suppose  you  try  to  form  a  picture  in  your  mind 
of  that  old  beach  where  the  oysters  lived  in  the 
clean,  white  sand. 

There  were  not  many  things  to  disturb  the  peace 


AN   ANCIENT  OYSTER  BED.  59 

and  quiet  of  the  great  oysters,  whose  shells  were  so 
thick  that  no  animal  could  bite  them  open.  Besides, 
there  were  then  no  people  living  upon  the  earth. 
So  that  they  were  not  troubled  by  picnic  parties,  or 
the  men  who  hunt  for  oysters  at  low  tide,  in  order 
to  carry  them  off  to  market. 

Many  generations  of  the  oysters  lived  there  hap- 
pily in  the  shallow  water,  among  the  islands  where 
the  Coast  Ranges  were  to  stand  in  the  distant 
future. 

The  oysters  had  plenty  to  eat,  and  their  shells 
grew  so  large  and  heavy  that  they  could  hardly 
open  them.  When  they  died,  the  waves  buried 
them  in  the  clean  sand.  The  young  oysters  took 
their  places,  and  in  this  way  the  bed  of  sand  and 
shells  became  many  feet  thick. 

The  ocean  tides  rose  and  fell  twice  a  day  in  those 
times,  just  as  they  do  now.  The  oysters  did  not 
mind  it.  In  fact,  they  rather  enjoyed  the  little 
time  during  which  the  tide  ran  away  and  left  them. 

But  one  day  something  unlooked  for  happened. 
The  tide  went  out  farther  than  usual,  and  left  the 
bed  of  oysters  bare  for  a  long  time.  After  a  few 
hours  had  passed,  and  the  salt  water  had  dried  off 
from  them,  they  became  very  thirsty.  O,  for  a  drink 
of  the  cool  salt  water.  Why  did  the  hot  sun  shine 
upon  them  so  long?  Why  did  not  the  tide  come 
back? 


60  WESTERN  SERIES  OP  READERS. 

Their  shells  gaped  wider  and  wider;  but  alas,  it 
was  all  in  vain.  In  a  little  time  they  all  died. 

When  it  was  too  late  the  tide  swept  in  again ;  not 
quietly  as  it  had  done  so  many  times  before,  but 
with  a  rush  of  muddy,  dashing  waves.  The  water 
came  in  with  such  force  that  it  did  not  stop  until  it 
had  swept  far  over  the  land,  uprooting  the  trees 
and  washing  away  the  soil. 

The  currents  and  waves  washed  mud  and  sand 
and  rubbish  from  the  land  over  the  bed  of  oysters, 
and  it  was  buried  very  deep. 

The  water  kept  rising,  until  it  covered  all  of  the 
islands,  and  there  was  no  land  in  sight. 

After  ever  so  long  a  time  had  passed,  the  water 
began  to  go  down,  and  the  land  where  the  islands 
had  been,  rose  again  above  the  water.  The  land 
continued  to  rise,  and  after  a  time  the  water  all  ran 
off.  The  islands  became  connected  by  dry  land,  and 
so  were  no  longer  islands. 

This  land  which  had  been  raised  above  the  water 
was  only  bare  rocks  and  mud  and  sand.  It  looked 
just  as  San  Francisco  Bay  would  look  if  the  water 
were  all  drained  off. 

The  winds  and  the  birds  brought  seeds,  and  all 
kinds  of  plants  sprang  up  where  the  sea  used  to  be. 

You  may  wonder  what  became  of  the  bed  of 
oysters.  It  was  so  completely  buried  that  one 
would  never  suspect  there  had  ever  been  one. 


AN   ANCIENT   OYSTER   BED.  61 

Something  was  raising  the  land  higher  all  of 
the  time,  and  by  and  by  it  began  to  look  a  little 
like  our  Coast  Ranges.  The  rains  which  fell  washed 
out  little  ravines,  which  finally  grew  to  be  canons. 
The  rains  also  worked  upon  the  hills,  and  washed 
away  into  the  canons  so  much  of  the  rocks  and  soil 
that  the  bed  of  oyster  shells  at  last  stuck  out  of  the 
ground  in  plain  sight. 

This  is  the  history  of  these  rough  and  worn 
oyster  shells.  What  fun  it  is  to  dig  them  out  of  the 
sand  where  they  have  been  buried  all  these  years. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Oyster   (ois'ter),  Titan    (ti'tan),  gape  (gap),  periwinkle 
(pgr'i-win'k'l). 


Oyster  =  a  marine  mollusk,  of  the  genus  Ostrea. 

Titan  =  pertaining  to  the  Titans,  of  great  size. 

Fossil  — remains  of  a  plant  or  an  animal  found  in  stratified 

rock. 

Tide  =  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  sea. 
Scallop  =  a  bivalve  shell  with  radiating  ribs. 
Periwinkle  =  a  small  gastropod  shell. 


A  RAINSTORM  IN  THE   DESERT. 

OU  have  all  heard  of  the 
deserts  of  Eastern  Califor- 
nia. They  are  formed  of 
broad,  sandy  valleys,  with 
mountains  of  almost  bare 
rock,  lying  between  them. 

The  high  mountains,  be- 
tween these  deserts  and  the  coast,  cut  off  the  cool 
breezes,  and  during  the  long  summer  days  the  air 
becomes  so  hot  that  when  it  blows  upon  one's  face 
it  seems  like  the  breath  from  an  oven. 

It  is  not  the  heat,  however,  that  makes  this  region 
a  desert.  It  is  so  barren  because  there  is  very  little 
rain.  One  would  think  that  thelizards  and  the  rattle- 
snakes would  have  such  a  country  all  to  themselves. 
The  desire  for  gold,  however,  draws  men  across 
the  blistering  sands  to  the  far  away  mountains, 
and  some  of  them  are  never  heard  of  again. 

Two  prospectors  once  made  their  camp  in  a  range 
of  mountains  in  the  Mojave  Desert.  They  had  been 
fortunate,  and  found  a  cool  spring  which  no  one  but 
Indians  had  seen  before.  They  built  a  cabin  in  the 


A    RAINSTORM    IN   THE    DESERT.  63 

canon  near  it,  for  they  intended  to  stay  there  and 
hunt  for  gold. 

The  canon  extended  away  back  into  the  moun- 
tains, and  some  time,  water  must  have  flowed  in  it, 
but  now  it  was  perfectly  dry.  As  rains  so  seldom 
fell  upon  the  mountains  the  prospectors  felt  quite 
safe. 

•During  the  middle  of  the  hot  days  little  columns 
of  sand  were  caught  up  by  the  winds,  and  moved 
slowly  across  the  sandy  desert  at  the  mouth  of  the 
canon.  Fleecy  clouds  also  gathered  about  the  tops 
of  the  mountains,  but  disappeared  as  night 
came  on. 

Months  passed  quietly  in  the  canon,  but  one 
day  the  clouds  gathered  heavier  than  usual.  They 
grew  quite  black,  and  a  few  rumblings  of  thunder 
were  heard. 

The  miners  looked  at  the  clouds  so  far  away,  and 
longed  for  their  cool  shadows,  but  after  a  time,  as 
the  sun  continued  to  shine  upon  them,  they  forgot 
all  about  the  clouds. 

In  the  meantime  something  was  happening  in 
the  dark  clouds.  They  settled  down  upon  the  tops 
of  the  mountains,  and  a  few  drops  began  to  fall. 
As  these  drops  cooled  the  air,  the  clouds  sent  them 
down  thicker  and  thicker.  Finally  a  perfect  flood 
was  pouring  from  them  upon  the  barren  mountain 


A    RAINSTORM    IN   THE    DESERT.  65 

There  was  little  soil  to  hold  the  falling  drops, 
and  they  quickly  gathered  into  rills.  The  rills  ran 
over  the  ledges  of  rock  and  into  the  little  ravines. 
They  poured  from  all  sides,  for  the  clouds  seemed 
to  have  broken  and  turned  all  of  their  moisture 
into  raindrops  at  once. 

The  floods  of  water  tumbled  and  roared  into  the 
gulches.  They  became  larger  each  moment,  as 
every  side  canon  added  its  share.  The  torrents 
were  angry  and  muddy  looking.  They  had  picked 
up  what  little  soil  there  was  and  all  the  loose 
fragments  of  rock,  besides,  there  were  trunks  and 
branches  of  the  few  stunted  trees  which  managed 
to  live  upon  the  mountains. 

It  was  years  since  such  a  rain  had  fallen  here, 
and  a  large  amount  of  rubbish  had  accumulated. 
Many  fragments  had  fallen  from  the  cliffs  into  the 
canons,  and  one  might  think  that  the  water  would 
have  trouble  getting  over  or  around  them. 

On  the  contrary,  it  did  not  seem  to  be  delayed  at 
all.  It  picked  up  and  carried  along  all  but  the  very 
largest  ones,  apparently  as  easily  as  it  did  the 
bird's  nest  which  had  been  torn  from  a  bush. 

In  a  short  time  all  the  torrents  reached  the  main 
canon.  There  they  united  and  went  thundering 
down  toward  the  little  cabin  of  the  miners.  The 
men  had  heard  the  sound  of  the  coming  waters, 
but  did  not  know  what  it  meant  until  a  wall  of 


66  WESTERN   SERIES    OF   READERS. 

water  appeared  sweeping  around  a  bend  in  the 
canon  above  them. 

In  an  instant  the  men  were  out  of  the  bed  of  the 
canon,  and  climbing  its  sides.  They  were  just  in 
time  to  reach  a  point  of  safety  as  the  foaming  flood 
went  thundering  past. 

At  its  front,  huge  bowlders,  almost  as  large  as 
their  cabin  went  rolling  over  and  over.  The  water 
was  thick  with  mud  and  sand  and  bowlders. 

The  clouds  had  cleared  away,  and  the  rain 
stopped  by  the  time  the  flood  had  reached  the  main 
canon,  and  so  the  water  went  down  almost  as 
quickly  as  it  had  risen.  After  a  few  hours,  there 
remained  only  a  little  stream  of  muddy  water, 
hunting  its  way  among  the  bowlders  which  dotted 
the  bed  of  the  canon. 

The  miner's  cabin  had  escaped  the  torrent,  but 
just  in  front  of  it  was  a  dirty  channel,  many  feet 
wide.  The  willows  by  the  spring  had  been  swept 
away,  and  all  was  dirty  and  desolate. 

What  had  become  of  the  great  mass  of  water  and 
rubbish  ?  It  swept  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  canon, 
and  there  spreading  out  upon  the  sandy  floor  of  the 
open  desert,  soon  spent  its  force.  Some  of  the 
bowlders  were  carried  three  miles  out  into  the 
desert.  The  water  did  not  stop  there,  but  with  the 
mud  and  sand,  flowed  fully  ten  miles  before  it  sank 
into  the  dry  sand. 


A   RAINSTORM    IN   THE    DESERT.  67 

This  is  the  picture  of  what  we  generally  call  a 
cloudburst.  When  rains  fall  upon  the  mountains 
of  the  desert  they  often  come  in  torrents  of  this 
kind.  As  there  is  so  little  soil,  the  water  gathers 
and  runs  off  very  quickly. 

In  places  where  it  rains  more  frequently,  soil 
collects,  and  the  grasses  and  trees  which  spring  up 
keep  it  from  washing  away. 

We  can  easily  see  that  the  desert  mountains  will 
finally  be  torn  down  by  such  cloudbursts.  The 
mountain  tops  are  cool,  and  at  times  change  what 
little  moisture  there  is  in  the  air  into  raindrops. 
When  the  mountains  have  been  worn  away  the 
springs  will  dry  up,  and  the  desert  become  more 
barren  still. 


BLACKBOARD   WORDS. 

Mojave  (m5-ha'va),  fortunate  (for'tu-nat),  condense 
(kon-dSns'),  column  (kol'uin),  accumulate  (ak-ku'-mu-lat), 
moisture  (mois'tur). 


Prospector = one  who  hunts  for  minerals. 

Gulch  =  a  ravine;  deep  bed  of  a  torrent  when  dry. 

Stunted  =  dwarfed. 

Rubbish  =  waste  matter. 

Cloudburst  =  a  sudden,  heavy  rainstorm. 

Condense  =  to  change  into  another  form  by  cold  or  pressure. 

Moisture  =that  which  makes  damp  or  wet. 


THE  STORY  OF  PETROLEUM. 


HERE  was  a  time  very  long  ago 
when  there  were  no  Coast  Ranges  in 
California.  The  waves  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  rippled  in  the  sunlight,  where 
the  cities  of  San  Francisco,  Santa 
Barbara,  and  Los  Angeles  now  stand. 
In  this  old  ocean  the  hungry  porpoise 

chased  the  little  fishes,  and  many  strange  monsters 

swam  to  and  fro. 

Sometimes  the  sailor  thinks  that  he  catches  sight 

of  some  of  these  long,  snake-like  monsters  playing 

near  his  ship.     No  one  believes  him,  yet  he  may  be 

right,  for  we  know  by  the  bones  which  have  been 

found  that  there  were  once 

such  animals  in  the  sea. 
You    have   read    of   the 

whales,  those  great  animals 

which  are  hunted  for  their 

oil;  but  did  you  ever  think 

that  the  petroleum  in  our 

evening  lamps  also  comes 

from     the    sea,    from    the 


REFERENCE  TOPICS. 

Animals  of  the  ocean. 
Necessity  of  sunlight. 
Bottom  of  the  ocean. 
Ooze. 

Petroleum. 
Tar,  bitumen. 
Bituminous  rock. 
Uses  of  petroleum. 


69 


70  WESTERN  SERIES   OF   READERS. 

bodies  of  very  small  animals  which  lived  long 
ago?  It  is  a  strange  story,  and  you  may  be  inter- 
ested in  hearing  it. 

The  world  did  not  look  then  as  it  does  now,  though 
the  ocean  was  filled  with  plants  and  animals  swim- 
ming or  floating  in  it  just  as  at  the  present  time. 
They  did  not  know  nor  care  that  the  bottom  of 
the  sea  in  which  they  lived  was  to  be  called  Cali- 
fornia. All  they  wanted  was  sunlight,  plenty  to 
eat,  and  a  great  ocean  in  which  to  live. 

In  order  to  find  out  more  about  these  little  ani- 
mals, and  what  became  of  them  when  they  died, 
let  us  take  an  imaginary  trip  to  the  bottom  of  that 
old  sea.  We  shall  have  to  be  dressed  as  divers  are, 
with  helmets  on  our  heads,  and  heavy  weights  at- 
tached to  our  feet. 

The  bright  sunlight  follows  us  down  many  feet, 
as  we  sink  through  the  clear  water,  but  it  gradually 
becomes  dim,  and,  long  before  we  reach  the  bottom, 
it  is  as  dark  as  it  is  at  midnight,  when  the  stars  are 
hidden  by  heavy  clouds. 

In  the  upper  portion  of  this  sea  the  water  is  full 
of  animals  and  plants  of  every  size,  shape,  and 
color.  The  fishes  and  their  relations  stare  at  us  for 
an  instant  with  their  great  round  eyes,  and  then 
are  gone.  But  the  little  animals,  which  are  not 
much  more  than  mouth  and  stomach,  are  not  at  all 
disturbed  by  our  visit. 


THE  STORY   OF   PETROLEUM.  71 

We  see  that  each  layer  of  water  has  its  peculiar 
animals,  just  as  each  kind  of  bird  has  its  own  place 
in  which  to  live,  and  build  its  nest.  The  bodies  of 
the  most  of  these  animals  are  so  small  that,  as  they 
float  before  our  eyes,  they  seem  like  so  many  par- 
ticles of  dust.  A  cupful  of  water  would  contain 
thousands  of  them. 

As  the  light  grows  dimmer,  the  animals  are  not 
so  numerous,  for  they  cannot  make  their  homes 
where  the  light  of  the  sun  does  not  reach.  There 
are  some,  however,  with  little  lanterns  like  the 
fireflies,  which  makes  it  possible  for  them  to  live 
in  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  By  the  aid  of  this  dim 
phosphorescent  light,  we  can  just  make  out  what  is 
going  on  around  u 

At  last,  when  about  half  a  mile  below  the  sur- 
face, we  reach  .the  floor  of  the  sea,  which  stretches 
away  in  every  direction  like  a  great  plain.  The 
bottom  is  soft,  and  we  sink  deep  into  a  slimy  ooze 
which  feels  much  like  the  mud  in  a  stagnant  pond. 

This  is  a  dreary  place,  for  the  waters  are  perfectly 
quiet,  and  the  few  animals  move  about  very  slowly. 
Our  attention  is  attracted  by  little  particles  that  are 
slowly  sinking  through  the  water.  Most  of  them 
are  so  small  that  they  look  like  tiny  snowflakes. 
Has  there  been  a  storm  above,  and  are  these  the 
little  flakes  of  snow  which  disappear  as  they  strike 
the  water? 


72  WESTERN   SERIES   OP   READERS. 

We  hold  out  our  hands  and  catch  a  number, 
and  examine  them  closely.  To  our  surprise  we  find 
that  they  are  the  bodies  of  the  little  animals  which 
live  in  the  water  far  above.  As  they  grow  old  and 
die,  their  bodies  sink  down  through  the  still  water, 
until  at  last  they  come  to  rest  upon  the  floor  of  the 
ocean. 

Dipping  up  some  of  the  ooze  in  which  we  stand, 
we  see  that  it  is  formed  of  the  same  material. 
Living  in  this  ooze,  and  feeding  upon  it,  are  worm- 
like  animals. 

Perhaps  you  have  already  thought  what  we  ought 
to  call  this  place.  It  is  the  cemetery  of  the  sea. 
Here  the  bodies  of  all  the  animals,  which  are  not 
dissolved  in  the  water,  come  to  rest.  Among  their 
little  skeletons  and  shells,  which  are  not  half  as  big 
as  a  pinhead,  there  are  bones  of  the  larger  animals, 
such  as  the  fish  and  seal. 

In  this  soft,  slimy  material,  which  is  so  slowly  col- 
lecting, there  are  particles  of  dust  from  the  land. 
A  north  wind  whirled  them  into  the  air,  and  out 
over  the  ocean,  and  then  dropped  them. 

Year  after  year  the  bed  of  ooze  increases,  until 
thousands  of  feet  of  material  are  deposited  upon 
the  bed  of  the  ocean.  That  which  is  undermost,  as 
you  will  readily  see,  must  be  pressed  upon  very 
heavily  by  that  above,  so  that  the  whole  mass  be- 
comes constantly  harder  and  more  compact. 


THE  STORY  OF   PETROLEUM.  73 

Thus  things  went  on  for  an  unknown  time  in  the 
deep  ocean,  which  then  occupied  the  place  where  the 
Coast  Ranges  now  stand.  Finally,  these  quiet  times 
came  to  an  end.  Something  strange  was  about  to  hap- 
pen. There  were  queer  sounds,  and  rockings  of  the 
earth,  and  all  the  animals  which  could,  fled  away. 

The  bottom  of  the  sea  was  raised  so  that  the  bed 
of  ooze,  which  during  all  these  years  had  become 
quite  hard,  was  raised  nearly  to  the  surface  of  the 
water.  Then,  from  the  nearest  land,  the  ocean 
currents  brought  sand  and  mud,  and  spread  them 
layer  after  layer  over  the  surface  of  this  old  ceme- 
tery, of  which  we  have  been  talking. 

Long,  long  years  passed  by,  and  thousands  of 
feet  of  sand  and  clay  and  gravels  were  washed  on 
top  of  what  was  once  the  bed  of  ooze.  The  clays 
and  gravels  were  hardened  and  became  stone. 
Then  another  great  earthquake  took  place,  and  the 
sea  bottom  was  lifted  high  above  the  waters  into  a 
great  range  of  mountains. 

During  the  raising  of  the  mountains,  the  bed  of 
ooze  was  squeezed  very  hard,  so  hard  that  it  be- 
came quite  warm,  and  a  strong  smelling  gas  was 
formed  from  the  materials  of  the  little  animal 
bodies.  At  last  this  gas,  which  is  poisonous  and 
invisible  like  that  formed  from  burning  coal,  found 
some  cracks  in  the  rock  through  which  warm  water 
was  flowing,  and  came  to  the  surface.  We  can  see  it 


74  WESTERN   SERIES   OF  READERS. 

bubbling  up  in  many  of  the  little  springs  which  we 
find  in  the  Coast  Ranges.  Many  birds  and  small  ani- 
mals, coming  to  drink  at  the  springs,  breathe  the 
poisonous  gas,  and  drop  dead  before  they  can  get 
away. 

There  was  also  formed  in  the  bed  of  ooze  a 
brownish  or  greenish  liquid.  This  is  petroleum 
just  as  Nature  gives  it  to  us.  Before  it  is  fit  to  use 
in  our  lamps,  it  must  be  refined. 

The  crude  petroleum,  which  is  made  far  below 
the  surface,  soaks  into  the  pores  and  cracks  of 
the  surrounding  rocks,  and  some  of  it  at  last 
reaches  the  surface,  flowing  out  with  strong  smell- 
ing springs  of  sulphur  water.  The  petroleum  in 
some  of  these  springs  is  thin,  and  dries  up  like  so 
much  water,  but  in  other  springs  it  is  very  thick 
like  tar,  and  gathers  in  large  springs.  The  bear  and 
deer,  coming  down  to  drink  of  the  queer  tasting 
water,  sometimes  fall  into  the  tar,  and  as  it  is  so 
sticky,  they  seldom  get  out. 

Prospectors  found  hills  of  sandstone  filled  with 
the  thick  black  oil,  or  tar,  and  called  the  sticky 
mass  bituminous  rock.  The  tar  which  they  found 
nearly  pure,  and  dried  out  so  that  it  was  hard,  they 
called  asphaltum.  They  discovered  that  it  was 
very  useful  for  making  street  pavements,  and  opened 
large  quarries  in  different  parts  of  the  Coast  Ranges, 
and  shipped  it  to  the  cities. 


THE   STORY   OF   PETROLEUM.  75 

Other  prospectors  found  little  streams  of  the  thin 
oil  flowing  from  the  cracks  in  the  rock,  and  put- 
ting up  derricks,  like  those  for  windmills,  they 
bored  holes  so  that  the  oil  would  come  out  faster. 
The  holes  were  made  hundreds  of  feet  deep,  and 
sometimes  they  obtained  one  hundred  barrels  of 
oil  in  a  day  from  a  single  well. 

Over  some  of  the  springs  of  gas,  tanks  have  been 
built  for  collecting  it,  and  people  have  used  it  for 
lighting  houses. 

The  oil  we  have  used  for  many  purposes.  From 
one  part  is  made  naphtha  and  gasoline.  Another 
part  is  used  for  burning  in  our  lamps.  From  the 
thick  portion  paraffine  is  made,  also  the  analine 
dyes,  and  oils  for  lubricating  machinery. 

As  we  look  at  the  clear  oil  in  our  lamps,  it  is  hard 
to  imagine  that  it  has  had  such  a  strange  history. 
The  little  animals  which  lived  long  ago  in  the  sea 
never  dreamed,  if  they  dreamed  of  anything,  that 
they  would  be  so  useful. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Porpoise  (por'ptis),  ooze  (ooz),  phosphorescent  (f6s'fSr- 
gs'seut),  cemetery  (sgm'e-t6r-y),  constantly  (kon'stant-ly), 
poisonous  (poi'z'n-iis),  petroleum  (pe-tro'le-um),  bitumi- 
nous (bi-tu'm6n-nus),  quarries  (kwdr'riz),  naphtha  (naf'tha 
or  nap'tha)  gasoline  (gas'6-lin),  lubricating  (lu'bri-kaf), 
paraffine  (par'af-fin). 


76  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

Porpoise  =  a  small  sea  animal  allied  to  the  whale* 

Phosphorescent  =  shining  without  sensible  heat. 

Ooze  ==  soft  mud  or  slime. 

Stagnant  =  not  running,  motionless. 

Crude  Petroleum  =  petroleum  as  it  comes  from  the  earth. 

Tar  =  a   soft  bitumen,  residue  left  after  the  evaporation    of 

petroleum. 
Naphtha,    Gasoline  =volatile  inflammable    liquids,  derived 

from  petroleum. 
Lubricate  =  to  make  slippery. 
Paraffine  =  a  white,  waxy  substance. 
Analine  dye  =  Dyes  prepared  from  petroleum. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  A  PACKAGE  OF  BORAX. 


N  the  center  of  one  of  the  desert  valleys 
of  Eastern  California  there  is  a  group  of 
men  at  work.  The  heat  is  almost  unbear- 
able, and  they  move  slowly  about. 

What  are  they  doing  in  this  desolate 
region  ?      They  are  gathering  the  crude 
borax,  which  forms  a  layer  of  almost  daz- 
zling  whiteness  over  the   ground  as  far 
as  one  can  see. 

We  would  hardly  know  how  to  get  along  without 
borax.  It  is  useful  for  so  many  purposes.  Our  borax 
formerly  came  from  Europe,  and  cost  much  more. 
Now  it  has  been  found  in  great  abundance  in  the 
deserts  of  California  and  Nevada. 

Borax  goes  through  many 
processes  before  it  is  fit 
to  use.  It  finally  reaches 
us  in  the  form  of  a  white 
powder,  put  up  in  neat 
little  packages. 

The  history  of  borax  de- 
posits, and  how  the  crude 


KEFERENCE  TOPICS. 


Where  borax  is  found. 
Marsh 


How   the    Borax 
was  formed. 

The    preparation 

borax . 
Marketing  of  borax. 


of 


77 


78  WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 

material  is  purified  and  sent  to  market,  is  an  inter- 
esting one. 

There  was  a  time,  long  ago,  when  more  rain  fell 
in  these  desert  regions.  The  valleys  had  no  out- 
lets, being  shut  in  by  the  mountains  on  all  sides. 
As  a  result,  the  water  running  down  the  mountain 
canons,  flowed  out  into  the  valleys  and  formed 
lakes. 

The  streams  carried  down  sand  and  mud,  while 
the  waves  spread  this  material  over  the  beds  of  the 
lakes,  forming  a  soft,  but  even  floor. 

The  streams  also  brought  other  things,  such  as 
soda  and  borax.  These  they  had  dissolved  out  of 
the  rocks  over  which  they  flowed.  The  mud  made 
the  waters  dirty  looking,  but  the  salt  and  borax 
were  invisible,  just  as  the  salt  in  the  ocean  cannot 
be  seen. 

A  time  came  when  the  lakes  began  to  dry  up. 
The  streams  were  smaller,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun, 
as  it  poured  down  upon  the  water,  evaporated  more 
than  the  streams  carried  in. 

Every  year  the  lakes  became  smaller  and  shal- 
lower. The  streams  had  left  so  much  borax  and 
soda  in  them  during  the  many  years  since  they 
were  formed,  that  the  water  at  last  became  unfit  to 
drink.  If  you  will  dissolve  some  borax  and  soda 
in  a  glass  you  can  tell  how  the  waters  of  the  lakes 
tasted. 


THE   STORY   OF  A   PACKAGE   OF   BORAX.  79 

Now  set  the  glass  out  of  doors,  and  let  it  stand 
until  the  water  has  entirely  dried  out,  or  evaporated. 
The  borax  and  soda  will  appear  again  as  a  white 
crust  upon  the  bottom  of  the  glass. 

Something  like  this  happened  in  these  old  lake- 
beds.  When  the  water  had  ail  evaporated,  there' 
were  miles  and  miles  of  mud  flats.  The  borax  and 
soda  which  had  been  in  the  water  were  left  mixed 
with  the  mud. 

As  the  mud  dried  upon  the  surface,  the  water 
which  soaked  up  from  below  kept  bringing  the  borax 
and  soda,  little  by  little,  to  the  surface.  After  a  time 
a  white  layer  covered  the  mud  flats. 

It  looked  as  if  there  had  been  a  snowstorm, 
only  the  white  deposit  did  not  disappear  in  the  hot 
sun. 

What  a  change  had  come  over  the  old  lake 
bottom,  As  far  as  one  could  see,  there  was  this 
white  coating  over  the  mud  flat.  It  glistened  so 
brightly  in  the  sun  as  to  almost  blind  one's  eyes. 

The  borax  deposits  were  not  disturbed  for  many 
centuries;  but  at  last  a  prospector  in  crossing  the 
desert  discovered  them.  Buildings  were  put  up, 
and  men  went  to  work  scraping  the  borax  into 
piles. 

It  was  then  placed  in  large  tubs  of  hot  water 
until  entirely  dissolved.  The  dirt  which  was  mixed 
with  it  settled  to  the  bottom,  and  the  water  with 


THE  STORY  OF  A  PACKAGE  OF  BORAX.     81 

the  borax  was  drawn  off  into  pans,  where  it  was 
allowed  to  cool. 

In  the  dry  air  of  the  desert  the  water  soon  evapor- 
ated, leaving  the  borax  in  the  bottom  of  the  pans. 

To  get  the  borax  to  the  railroad  it  was  necessary 
to  haul  it  nearly  one  hundred  miles.  Several 
wagons  were  built  which  would  hold  half  as  much 
as  a  freight  car.  They  had  wheels  seven  feet  in 
diameter,  the  tires  being  nearly  a  foot  wide,  so  that 
they  would  not  sink  in  the  sand. 

Three  wagons  were  hitched  together.  Two  were 
loaded  with  borax,  and  the  other  carried  water  for 
the  mules  to  drink.  What  a  long  string  of  mules 
was  needed  to  haul  these  wagons.  There  were 
twenty  of  them.  When  the  mules  were  all  hitched 
up,  and  the  driver  had  climbed  into  his  saddle,  the 
sight  was  an  interesting  one. 

It  took  them  three  days  to  cross  the  desert,  over 
a  road  which  was  almost  as  smooth  and  level  as  a 
railroad. 

There  they  went,  slowly  creeping  over  the  desert. 
All  that  we  could  see  of  them  at  first  was  a  great 
cloud  of  dust.  As  they  cairif  near,  the  heads  of  the 
mules  appeared  through  the  dust,  and  then  the  out- 
lines of  the  wagon  boxes. 

The  mules  looked  dusty  and  tired,  and  so  did 
the  driver.  With  the  creak  of  the  wagons,  and  the 
steady  sounds  of  the  hoofs,  they  passed. 


82  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

As  the  sun  went  down  they  stopped,  and  un- 
hitching the  mules,  made  camp  for  the  night.  The 
precious  water  which  the  tired  animals  had  been 
hauling  all  day  was  given  them  to  drink,  and  they 
lay  down  to  rest. 

In  this  way  the  borax  was  taken  to  Mojave  and 
placed  upon  the  cars.  When  it  reached  Oakland 
it  was  purified  farther,  then  ground  and  put  in 
little  packages  for  sale. 

Borax  not  only  helps  in  cleaning,  but  is  useful 
in  many  other  ways. 


BLACKBOARD  WORDS. 

Borax  (bo'raks),  dazzling  (daz'-zllng),  purified  (pu'ri-lid), 
dissolve  (diz-zSlv'),  diameter  (di-am'e-ter),  Mojave  (016- 
ha'va). 


Borax  =  a  compound  of  boracic  acid  and  soda. 

Deposit  =  that   which    is    laid    down    or   deposited    from   a 

solution. 

Marsh  =low,  wet  ground. 
Soda  =  a  white  substance,  having  an  alkaline  taste. 


WHERE  OUR  SALT  COMES  FROM. 


MONG  the  most  wonderful  mines  in  all 
the  world,  are  the  salt  mines  of  Aus- 
tria.    There,  chambers  larger  than 
houses  have   been   dug  out  of  the 
solid  salt.      Salt   obtained   in   this 
way  is  called  rock  salt. 

Salt  is  found   in   California,  but 
here  we  do  not  have  to  dig  underground  for  it. 

You  all  know  how  salty  the  sea  water  is.  Sailors 
have  to  carry  all  of  their  drinking  water  with 
them.  If  it  should  be  used  up,  they  would  be  as 
badly  off,  with  the  sea  water  all  around  them,  as 
those  who  are  lost  upon  the  desert. 

The  most  of  our  salt  comes  from  the  sea.  In 
some  places  Nature  has  collected  the  salt  for  us 
upon  old  sea  bottoms,  which 
are  now  dry.  In  other 
places,  we  make  it  directly 
from  the  salt  sea  water. 
There  are  many  such  salt 
works  upon  the  eastern  side 
of  San  Francisco  Bay,  near 


REFERENCE  TOPICS. 

Source  of  salt. 

Salt  mines  of  Austria. 

Making    salt    from    sea 

water. 
Salt    beds    in     Colorado 

desert. 


83 


84  WESTERN    SERIES    OF   READERS. 

Alvarado.  There  the  sea  water  is  kept  in  ponds, 
and  simply  allowed  to  evaporate.  You  can  try  it 
yourself  by  placing  some  salt  water  in  a  basin  and 
allowing  it  to  stand  until  the  water  has  dried  up. 
There  will  then  be  a  coating  of  little  salt  crystals 
over  the  bottom  of  the  basin. 

A  marsh  over  which  the  sea  water  flows  at  high 
tide  is  selected.  It  is  then  cut  into  square  fields  by 
shoveling  up  embankments.  Gates  lead  from  one 
field  to  another,  and  connect  with  the  water  out- 
side. This  permits  them  to  be  filled  when  the  tide 
is  high. 

When  a  pond  is  full  of  salt  water  the  gate  is 
closed,  so  that  it  cannot  run  out  when  the  tide  goes 
down.  It  is  then  allowed  to  stand  for  weeks  in  the 
sun,  and  with  the  winds  blowing  over  it.  When 
the  water  has  nearly  evaporated,  the  gate  is  again 
raised  at  high  tide,  so  that  the  pond  can  fill  up 
again. 

This  process  is  repeated  until  the  salt  water  or 
brine  in  the  pond  is  very  strong.  The  water,  when 
it  passes  off  into  the  air  in  the  form  of  little  in- 
visible particles,  cannot  carry  the  salt  away  with  it. 
Consequently,  every  time  the  water  is  let  in,  the 
pond  is  richer  in  salt. 

Finally,  the  brine  is  as  strong  as  it  can  be  made, 
and  the  salt  begins  to  separate  from  the  water,  and 
fall  to  the  bottom.  You  can  understand  more 


WHERE   OUR   SALT   COMES   FROM.  85 

clearly  now  this  is  done  by  dissolving  all  the  salt 
you  can  in  a  glass  of  water,  and  then  allowing  it  to 
stand  until  some  of  the  water  has  evaporated. 
Little  crystals  of  salt  will  soon  begin  to  appear 
around  the  sides  of  the  glass. 

When  a  thick  layer  of  salt  has  gathered  upon  the 
bottom  of  the  pond,  the  water  is  drawn  off.  Then 
the  men  go  to  work  with  shovels,  and  throw  it  out 
on  the  banks  in  piles. 

Nature  has  made  the  great  beds  of  salt  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  world  in  very  much  the  same  way. 
We  only  imitate  Nature  when  we  make  it  by  evapo- 
rating sea  water. 

Some  of  the  salt  beds  have  been  buried  deeply 
by  sands  and  clays  which  have  been  washed  over 
them.  To  get  at  the  salt  in  these  beds,  we  some- 
times dig  shafts,  as  is  done  in  mining  for  coal.  Men 
go  down  in  these  shafts,  and  quarry  the  salt.  In 
some  places,  the  salt  water  is  pumped  up  from  wells, 
and  then  allowed  to  evaporate  as  in  making  salt 
from  the  sea  water. 

When  the  old  sea  bottoms,  upon  which  the  salt 
lies,  have  not  been  covered  up,  the  salt  is  very  easy 
to  get.  This  is  the  way  the  salt  is  found  at  Sal  ton, 
in  the  Colorado  Desert. 

That  portion  of  the  desert  which  is  below  the 
level  of  the  sea  was  once  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of 
Lower  California,  and  was  covered  with  salt  water. 


86  WESTERN    SERIES   OF   READERS. 

As  the  Colorado  River  built  its  delta  out  into  the 
gulf,  the  water  covering  the  desert  became  nearly 
cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  gulf. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  hot  sun  and  dry  air, 
the  water  was  continually  evaporating.  To  keep 
up  the  supply,  the  sea  water  flowed  in  from  the  gulf 
to  the  south.  This  process  is,  as  you  see,  quite  like 
that  carried  out  artificially. 

Thus  the  great  pond  or  lake,  for  it  was  many 
miles  across,  at  last  came  to  form  a  very  strong 
brine.  After  a  time  the  delta  of  the  Colorado 
River  cut  the  lake  off  entirely  from  the  Gulf  of 
Lower  California.  Then  the  water  began  to  dry  up, 
and  the  salt  to  settle  to  the  bottom,  and  mix  with 
the  mud. 

When  the  clear  water  was  all  gone,  the  mud  and 
salt  formed  a  thick  layer  all  over  the  bottom  of  the 
old  lake.  The  air  was  so  dry  that  the  mud 
hardened  on  the  surface,  but  it  still  remained  soft 
underneath  this  crust. 

How  does  the  bed  of  pure  salt  form  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  former  lake  bottom,  which  is  now  white 
and  glistening  as  far  as  you  can  see  ?  It  is  in  this 
way.  You  have  all  noticed  the  little  salt  crystals 
which  appear  upon  the  surface  of  a  roll  of  butter 
when  it  is  placed  in  the  dry,  warm  air.  The  salt 
was  in  the  butter  before,  but  it  was  dissolved,  and 
you  could  not  see  it. 


WHERE   OUR   SALT   COMES   FROM. 


87 


The  dry  air  brought  it  to  the  surface  of  the  butter. 
There  the  water  in  which  the  salt  was  dissolved 
evaporated,  and  left  the  little  crystals  of  salt. 

The  same  thing  takes  place  upon  the  bed  of  the 
old  salt  lake  at  Salton.  When  a  layer  several  inches 
thick  is  formed,  it  is  scraped  up.  The  Indians  do 
the  most  of  the  work  in  this  hot  region.  With 


SALT  PLOW  AT  WORK  AT   SALTON   SEA. 


plows  and  scrapers,  many  hundred  tons  of  salt  are 
gathered  every  day.  When  the  salt  has  been  scraped 
into  rows,  it  is  shoveled  upon  the  cars  and  taken 
to  the  mill.  There  it  is  ground  and  put  up  in 
form  for  sale. 

We  think  it  would  be  a  very  hard  thing  to  go 
without  salt.  Yet,  during  some  of  the  wars,  people 
have  been  shut  away  from  the  salt  beds,  and  have 
had  to  learn  to  eat  their  food  without  it. 


88  WESTERN  SERIES  OF  READERS. 

You  know  how  the  animals  like  salt.  The 
hunter  takes  advantage  of  this  fact,  and  waits  for 
the  deer  when  they  come  to  drink  at  the  salt  licks. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Alvarado  (al'va-ra-do),  artificially   (ar'ti-fish'al-ly),  Sal- 
ton  (sal'-t6n),  evaporate  (e-vap'o-rat). 


Evaporate  =  to  pass  off  in  vapor. 
Invisi  ole  =  that  which  cannot  be  seen. 
Imitate  =  to  follow  as  a  pattern,  to  copy. 
Brine  =  strong  salt  water. 
Dissolve  =  to  become  fluid;  to  be  melted. 
Salt  licks  =  springs  containing  salt. 


MONO   LAKE. 


OU  have  all  read  of  Great  Salt 
Lake,  in  Utah.  Its  waters  are 
so  salt  that  if  you  should  fall  into 
it,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
sink.  It  is  a  good  place  in  which 
to  learn  to  swim,  although  the  salt 
is  very  disagreeable,  if  you  get 
your  head  under  the  water. 

Do  you  know  that  there  is  a  lake  in  California 
which  is  fully  as  interesting  as  Great  Salt  Lake? 
It  is  known  as  Mono  Lake,  and  lies  on  the  edge  of 
the  desert  country  east  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Moun- 
tains. 

Common  salt  is  the  most  important  substance 
in  the  water  of  Great  Salt  Lake,  but  our  Cali- 
fornia lake  contains  as 
much  soda  as  it  does  salt. 
You  all  know  what  soda 
is.  It  is  put  into  biscuits 
to  make  them  rise,  and  if 
there  is  too  much  of  it  the 
biscuits  are  yellow. 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Lakes  with  no  outlet. 

Mono  Lake. 

History  of  the  lake. 

Soda. 

Islands  In  Mono  Lake. 

Volcanic  features. 


90  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

There  is  so  much  soda  in  Mono  Lake  that  if  the 
water  were  all  evaporated,  and  people  could  get  it, 
there  would  be  enough  to  last  all  the  bakers  in  the 
world  for  many  years,  and  give  everybody  the 
dyspepsia. 

There  are  so  many  queer  things  to  be  seen  around 
Mono  Lake  that  I  will  tell  you  about  some  of  them. 

The  lake  lies  in  an  inclosed  basin,  without  any 
outlet.  The  barren  desert  lies  all  around  it,  except 
upon  the  west.  On  that  side  the  snowy  Sierra 
Nevada  Mountains  rise  very  abruptly.  They  reach 
a  height  of  a  mile  above  the  lake,  while  the  lake 
itself  is  more  than  a  mile  above  the  level  of  the 
ocean. 

Several  dashing  streams  of  pure,  cold  water  from 
the  melting  snows  upon  the  mountains  flow  into  the 
lake.  Nevertheless,  its  basin  never  becomes  full  so 
that  streams  can  run  out. 

Where  do  you  suppose  all  the  water  goes  to  ?  It 
is  taken  up  as  invisible  vapor  by  the  thirsty  air, 
and  is  carried  out  over  the  hot  deserts.  The  water 
of  the  lake  is-  clear,  and  it  looks  as  if  it  would  be 
good  to  drink,  but  one  little  taste  is  enough.  It  is 
so  bitter  and  salty. 

The  brooks  that  flow  into  the  lake  are  full  of 
trout,  but  if  any  are  accidentally  carried  into  the 
lake,  they  turn  over  on  their  backs  and  die  im- 
mediately. 


92  WESTERN   SERIES   OP   READERS. 

It  is  delightful  water  to  go  swimming  in,  for  it 
feels  so  warm  and  soft.  But  you  must  not  forget 
and  stay  in  too  long,  for  it  would  eat  into  your  skin, 
and  leave  it  smarting  and  sore. 

What  a  washtub  this  great  lake  would  make. 
Every  afternoon  when  the  wind  blows,  the  waves, 
as  they  break  upon  the  shore,  raise  a  bank  of  foam 
looking  just  like  soapsuds.  The  water  is  indeed 
very  good  for  washing  clothes,  but  the  clothes  must 
not  be  left  in  too  long,  for  the  water  takes  the  color 
out  and  leaves  them  rotten. 

Many  years  ago,  when  icy  glaciers  covered  the 
Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  the  water  was  higher  in 
the  lake  than  it  is  now.  Pebbly  beaches  where  the 
waves  used  to  break,  extend  along  the  sides  of  the 
hills  many  feet  above  the  present  beach.  The  water 
then  was  not  so  full  of  soda  and  salt,  and  fish  may 
have  lived  in  it. 

After  the  glaciers  had  melted,  less  water  flowed 
into  the  lake,  and  it  began  to  dry  up.  As  the  water 
became  lower  in  the  lake  it  grew  more  alkaline  and 
salty.  For  you  know  that  if  a  spoonful  of  salt  or 
soda  is  dissolved  in  a  pitcher  of  water  it  will  not 
taste  as  strong  as  it  would  if  the  same  amount  be 
placed  in  a  small  dish,  such  as  a  glass. 

If  the  water  of  the  lake  should  entirely  dry  up, 
there  would  be  left  a  white  layer  of  salt  and  soda 
all  over  the  bottom.  The  substances  dissolved  in 


MONO    LAKE.  93 

the  water  do  not  go  away  with  the  watery  vapor 
which  the  air  takes  up. 

The  water  of  the  lake  is  now  so  strong  that  one 
would  think  nothing  could  live  in  it.  But  there  is 
an  insect  which  lays  its  eggs  in  this  water.  The 
larvaa,  when  they  hatch,  are  thrown  up  by  the 
waves  along  the  shore,  and  give  a  very  disagreeable 
odor.  The  Indians,  however,  think  them  a  delicacy, 
and  gather  them  in  large  quantities.  After  they  are 
dried,  they  are  packed  away  for  winter  use. 

The  region  around  Mono  Lake  is  dotted  with  vol- 
canoes. Although  none  are  active  now,  it  was  differ- 
ent once.  I  am  afraid  we  should  have  had  as  hard 
a  time  as  the  people  of  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii 
if  we  had  lived  near  Mono  Lake  a  few  hundred 
years  ago. 

Streams  of  hot  lava  flowed  over  the  country,  and 
the  volcanoes  threw  out  clouds  of  pumice  and  ashes, 
which  settled  over  everything.  There  must  have 
been  terrible  earthquakes  too. 

We  will  visit  the  two  islands  in  the  lake,  and  see 
the  effects  of  the  volcanoes  and  earthquakes.  We 
have  to  row  several  miles  in  the  hot  sun  before 
reaching  the  first  island. 

There  are  many  strange  things  upon  these  islands. 
Near  the  larger  one  springs  of  hot  water  come  up 
through  the  lake,  making  a  very  nice  place  to  bathe, 
if  one  does  not  get  too  near  the  springs.  In  the 


94  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

black  lava  near  by,  are  crevices  through  which 
steam  is  constantly  issuing  with  a  loud,  puffing 
noise.  On  a  cool  morning,  the  steam  forms  quite  a 
cloud  over  the  island. 

On  one  of  the  islands  is  a  group  of  craters,  where 
explosions  underneath  the  surface  have  blown  the 
rock  into  fragments  and  left  deep  holes.  The  holes 
look  much  as  they  would  if  they  had  been  blown 
out  by  giant  powder. 

In  the  center  of  the  island  there  is  a  deep  hole  of 
a  different  kind.  It  certainly  looks  as  if  the  bottom 
had  fallen  out. 

The  smaller  of  the  islands  is  composed  entirely  of 
lava.  It  has  almost  no  soil  and  only  a  few  bushes. 
The  island  seems  to  have  been  pushed  up  from  un- 
derneath the  lake  by  some  recent  earthquake. 

The  rocks  are  shattered,  and  full  of  cracks.  In 
the  bottom  of  some  of  these  there  is  water,  and  in 
their  darker  corners  owls  make  their  home. 

We  feel  like  walking  lightly,  for  it  almost  seems 
as  if  the  jar  of  our  feet  would  send  the  island  crum- 
bling to  the  bottom  of  the  lake. 

Although  the  island  has  no  springs  upon  it,  a 
band  of  goats  is  kept  there.  They  are  very  wild, 
and  run  like  deer  when  we  come  in  sight. 

There  are  many  other  interesting  things  about 
Mono  Lake.  Many  springs  come  up  in  the  bottom 
of  the  lake.  They  carry  lime  dissolved  in  their 


MONO   LAKE.  95 

waters,  and  have  built  up  strange  looking  little 
towers.  Some  of  these  reach  above  the  water.  They 
are  hollow  inside,  and  the  water  runs  up  through 
the  hollow  and  out  over  the  top  just  like  a  fountain. 
You  may  want  to  know  where  all  of  the  salts  in 
the  lake  came  from.  A  little  must  have  been  dis- 
solved in  the  spring  water,  but  the  most  was  brought 
in  by  the  streams  which  flow  down  from  the  moun- 
tains. They  are  constantly  removing  a  little  of  the 
rock  over  which  they  flow,  and  as  no  streams  run 
out  of  the  lake,  everything  that  is  brought  in  must 
stay  there. 


BLACKBOARD   WORDS. 

Glacier  (gla'sher,  or  glas'i-er),  larvae  (lar've),  pitcher 
(pich'er),  pumice  (pum-is),  Herculaneum  (her-ku-la'ne-um), 
Pompeii  (p6in  pa'ye). 


Substance  =  the  material  of  which  things  are  made. 

Evaporate  =  to  change  a  liquid  into  vapor. 

Abruptly  =  suddenly. 

Invisible  =  that  which  cannot  be  seen. 

Accident  =  an  unexpected  event. 

Glacier=  a  stream  of  ice  slowly  moving  down  a  mountain  or 

canon. 

Shatter  =  to  break  in  pieces. 

Larvae  =  the  young,  or  immature  stage  of  an  insect. 
Pumice  =  light,  porous  lava. 
Crater  =  the  mouth  of  a  volcano. 


THE    STORY    OF    THE   COLORADO   RIVER. 


OME  rivers  flow  through  broad  val- 
leys nearly  their  whole  length.  They 
hardly  know  what  a  cliff  or  waterfall 
is.  Others  tumble  and  foam  be- 
tween steep  rocks,  where  there  is  not 
even  room  for  a  footpath. 

Different  rivers   can  tell  different 
stories,  but  there  is  not  one  that  can 

tell  a  more  interesting  story   than  the   Colorado. 

For  more  than  two  hundred   miles  it  flows  in  a 

canon,  which  is  more  than  a  mile  deep,  and  often 

so  narrow  that  the  sun  reaches  it  but  a  little  time 

each  day. 

This  great  river    seems 

almost  like  a  living  thing. 

It  never  rests,  but   moves 

on    just    the     same,    year 

after  year.     It  has  a  great 

work    to    do,  and   though 

it  has  been  busy  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  it  has  made 

only  a  small  beginning. 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Locate  Colorado  River. 
Gulf  of  California. 
Formation  of  deltas. 
Canons. 

Stratified  rocks. 
Colorado  Desert. 
Work  of  rivers. 
Salt  on  Sea. 


THE  GRAND  CANON  OF  THE  COLORADO  RIVER. 


98  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

The  task  which  has  been  given  it  is  enough  to 
discourage  anything  but  a  river.  It  is  to  carry 
away  to  the  sea,  grain  by  grain,  the  particles  which 
make  up  the  mountains  and  plateaus  which  form 
its  basin.  A  river  basin,  as  you  know,  includes  all 
the  land  sloping  toward  one  stream. 

After  working  all  these  years,  it  has  done  little 
more  than  cut  this  deep  canon.  It  has  yet  to  carry 
away  the  material  of  the  great  plateau  through 
which  it  runs. 

The  river  does  not  have  to  work  alone  however, 
for  it  has  many  assistants.  In  the  first  place,  there 
are  the  branch  streams  which  flow  into  it.  Each 
one  of  these  grinds  out  a  canon  for  itself.  As  these 
tributary  streams  reach  back  toward  the  mountains 
which  inclose  the  basin  of  the  Colorado,  each  one 
in  turn  splits  up  into  smaller  ones.  These  in  turn 
divide  into  little  rills  nourished  by  the  springs  and 
melting  snows. 

The  raindrops,  and  the  heat,  and  the  frost  are  at 
work  upon  the  mountains,  breaking  the  solid  rock 
into  little  fragments.  These  tumble  into  the  rills, 
which  bear  them  to  the  brooks,  and  the  brooks  give 
them  to  the  rivers,  which  finally  all  unite  in  the 
yellow  and  muddy  Colorado. 

Sometimes  the  brooks  bring  more  particles  of 
sand  and  clay  to  the  rivers  than  they  can  carry. 
Then  their  beds  are  filled  up,  and  they  overflow  the 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  COLORADO  RIVER.     99 

valleys  along  their  banks.  But  where  they  run 
swiftly,  they  bear  along  all  the  rubbish  given  to 
them,  and  keep  their  channels  clean. 

If  the  water  of  the  Colorado  were  clear,  it  would 
have  nothing  with  which  to  do  its  work.  The  sand 
and  pebbles,  which  its  swift  current  bears  along, 
are  its  tools.  They  are  rolled  and  shoved  along  the 
bottom,  and  gradually  wear  away  the  solid  rock.  In 
this  way  the  river  slowly  cuts  deeper  into  the 
plateau. 

Each  tributary  stream  does  the  same  thing,  so 
that  there  is  formed  a  perfect  network  of  canons, 
which  makes  it  impossible  to  travel  across  the 
country. 

Here,  where  the  great  walls  rise  so  many  thou- 
sands of  feet,  there  is  a  good  opportunity  to  learn 
something  about  the  rocks  of  which  they  are  made. 
They  are  not  massive  and  dark,  like  the  lava  about 
which  we  have  read,  but  are  formed  of  layers  of 
different  colors.  The  layers  lie  perfectly  flat,  like 
the  boards  in  a  lumber  pile,  and  extend  up  and 
down  the  canon  as  far  as  one  can  see. 

The  dark  layers  we  will  call  shale.  They  are 
formed  of  hardened  clay.  The  reddish  layers  are 
composed  of  little  grains  of  sand,  colored  with 
something  like  iron  rust.  We  will  call  them  sand- 
stone. Rocks  made  of  layers  in  this  way  are  said 
to  be  stratified. 


100  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

Before  the  Colorado  River  existed,  what  is  now 
this  great  plateau  was  beneath  the  sea.  A  river, 
perhaps  as  muddy  as  the  Colorado,  flowed  into  this 
old  sea.  The  sand  and  mud,  which  it  brought 
down,  were  washed  around  by  the  waves  and  cur- 
rents, and  spread  out  in  layers  just  as  we  see  them 
in  the  walls  of  the  canon. 

After  a  time  this  old  sea  bottom  was  slowly  and 
gently  raised,  until  it  was  more  than  a  mile  above 
the  surface  of  the  water.  It  formed  a  great  plateau. 

Rains  fell  upon  the  plateau,  and  the  brooks  in 
which  the  drops  collected  ran  here  and  there, 
hardly  knowing,  at  first,  what  direction  to  take,  be- 
cause the  surface  was  so  level.  Finally,  all  those 
upon  one  slope  united  in  a  valley,  and  flowed  toward 
the  south  west,  at  last  reaching  the  Gulf  of  California. 

In  this  way  the  Colorado  River  was  born.  It 
went  to  work  at  once  carrying  off"  the  waste  mate- 
rial from  the  hills,  and  at  the  same  time  cutting  a 
canon.  It  will  continue  this  work  for  a  long  time 
to  come. 

What  has  the  river  done  with  all  the  little  par- 
ticles of  sand  and  clay  which  it  has  taken  from  the 
mountains,  and  from  the  canon  ?  Let  us  follow  it 
toward  its  mouth,  and  we  may  be  able  to  learn. 

When  the  Colorado  leaves  the  canon,  it  winds  for 
long  miles  through  desert  hills  and  sandy  plains. 
As  it  nears  the  Gulf  of  California,  its  banks  be- 


THE   STORY   OF   THE    COLORADO    RIVER.         101 

come  lower  and  more  muddy.  Now  it  enters  upon 
a  great  plain,  which  gives  place  to  a  tidal  marsh, 
and  then  to  the  open  waters  of  the  gulf. 

This  is  where  the  river  leaves  its  load  of  mud.  A 
great  delta  has  been  formed,  filling  up  nearly  all  of 
the  northern  end  of  the  gulf.  A  long  time  ago, 
before  the  Colorado  River  had  brought  down  so 
much  mud,  the  Gulf  of  California  reached  north 
into  California.  It  covered  what  we  now  call  the 
Colorado  Desert. 

Gradually  the  mud  from  the  river  spread  out 
over  the  gulf  until  the  plains  of  the  delta  extended 
quite  across  it.  The  very  northern  end  of  the  gulf 
was  not  filled  with  the  mud,  and  being  cut  off  by 
the  delta  to  the  south,  a  salt  lake  was  formed. 

The  climate  in  this  region  is  very  warm  and  dry, 
and  little  by  little,  the  water  dried  up,  leaving  a 
deposit  of  salt.  In  this  way  the  basin  of  the  Colo- 
rado Desert  was  formed.  The  center  of  the  basin 
is  now  about  three  hundred  feet  below  the  level  of 
the  sea. 

When  the  river  is  high  it  sometimes  overflows  its 
banks,  and  a  part  of  the  water  turns  back  and 
empties  into  this  basin  of  the  desert.  Then  a  large 
body  of  shallow  salt  water  is  formed,  called  Salton 
Sea.  The  air  is  so  hot  and  dry  however,  that  it  soon 
evaporates. 

Little  seashells   are  scattered  at  various  places 


102  WESTERN  SERIES   OF   READERS. 

over  the  desert.  The  animals  which  once  inhabited 
them  crawled  about  in  the  mud,  when  this  region 
formed  apart  of  the  Gulf  of  California.  Around  the 
edges  of  the  desert  one  can  also  trace  the  ancient 
beach,  where  the  waves  used  to  break. 

We  see  now  what  a  great  work  the  Colorado 
River  has  done.  It  is  still  busy  carrying  mud  and 
sand,  and  may  some  time  fill  up  nearly  the  whole 
gulf. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Canon  (kan'yun),  rubbish  (rub  bish),  plateau  (pla-to'), 
lava  (la'va),  shale  (shal),  stratified  (strat'i-fld),  channel 
(chan'nei),  delta  (deTta)  evaporate  (e-vap'6-rat). 


Discourage  =  to  dishearten. 

Particles  =  small  parts  of  anything. 

Canon  =  a  deep  gulch. 

Massive  =  having  no  regular  form. 

Stratified  =  formed  in  layers. 

Plateau  =  a  flat,  elevated  area  of  land. 

Sand = fine  grains  of  stone. 

Clay  =  soft,  tenacious  earth. 

Tidal  marsh  =  a  flat  covered  by  the  ocean  at  high  tide. 


WHAT  WE  SAW  IN  AN  OCEAN  CLIFF. 


[HE  picture  before  us  represents  a 
part  of  a  high  cliff  on  Point 
Loma,  near  San  Diego.  The 
shore  here  can  be  explored  only 
at  low  tide,  and  even  then  it  is 
difficult  to  reach. 

The  rocks  forming  the  cliff  are 
arranged  in  horizontal  la}^ers,  and 
caves  appear  in  them  at  different  places.  One  of  the 
largest  of  the  caves  is  shown  in  the  picture. 

Boys  always  delight  in  exploring  wild  places, 
and  Point  Loma  had  the  greatest  attraction  for  us 
on  this  account.     We  dis- 
covered this  cave   on   one 
of  our  expeditions.     It  was 
so  interesting  that  we  took 
a  picture  of  it. 

After  exploring  the  cave, 
which  extended  into  the 
rock  more  than  one  hun- 
dred feet,  we  sat  down  on 
the  rocks.  Dangling  our 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Locate  San  Diego. 

Caves. 

Stratified  rocks. 

How  stratified  rocks 
are  formed. 

Earthquakes . 

Fissures  IP  the  rocks. 

Formation  of  moun- 
tains. 


103 


AN  OCEAN  CAVE,  POINT  LOMA,  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA, 


WHAT   WE   SAW   IN   AN    OCEAN   CLIFF.  105 

feet  in  the  water,  which  at  ebb  tide  flowed  back 
and  forth  very  quietly,  We  studied  the  cliff  and 
the  cave. 

We  were  interested  in  the  regular  layers  df  rock, 
formed  one  above  the  other,  and  wanted  to  know 
why  the  waves  dug  out  a  cave  at  this  particular 
place. 

Perhaps  you  would  be  interested,  too,  if  we  should 
tell  you  what  we  learned  about  them. 

Each  layer  of  rock  is  called  a  stratum,  and  the 
whole  series  is  said  to  be  stratified.  Those  layers 
which  stand  out  sharply  are  harder  than  the  others. 
They  consist  of  grains  of  sand  tightly  packed  to- 
gether, and  are  called  sandstone. 

Those  layers  which  have  been  worn  away  most 
are  softer  than  the  sandstone.  They  consist  of  clay 
which  has  been  squeezed  very  hard.  They  are 
called  shale. 

These  stratified  rocks  were  formed  in  the  bed  of 
the  ocean  and  then  lifted  up  to  the  place  in  which 
we  saw  them. 

You  may  be  able  to  understand  how  they  were 
formed  if  you  should  examine  the  mud  flats  when 
the  tide  is  very  low.  A  deep  trench  dug  across  the 
mud  flats  would  show  them  to  be  made  of  layers 
like  those  in  the  cliff.  They  would  be  soft,  but 
formed  of  the  same  materials, —  sand  and  clay. 

The  little  particles  which  make  up  the  flat  have 


106  WESTERN   SERIES   OP   READERS. 

been  brought  by  the  waves  and  tides.  If  you 
turned  a  handful  of  soil  into  a  pitcher  of  water  the 
little  grains  of  sand  would  go  to  the  bottom  imme- 
diately, but  it  would  take  some  time  for  the  fine 
particles  of  mud  to  settle. 

This  is  the  way  it  is  in  the  shallow  water  of  the 
flat.  In  the  winter,  when  the  weather  is  stormy 
and  the  currents  strong,  sand  is  washed  onto  the 
flat.  During  the  long  summers  it  is  very  different. 
The  water  is  more  quiet,  and  only  the  fine  particles 
of  mud  are  deposited  upon  the  flat. 

In  this  way,  as  year  after  year  passes,  you  can  see 
that  a  succession  of  layers  of  sand  and  mud  would  be 
formed  in  the  water.  The  ones  at  the  bottom  would 
be  squeezed  and  made  hard  by  the  weight  of  those 
above.  The  sand  would  be  changed  to  sandstone, 
and  the  clay  to  shale. 

Now  that  we  have  seen  how  the  different  layers 
in  the  cliff  were  formed,  we  want  to  know  something 
about  the  cave. 

The  waves  have  dug  in  a  long  distance,  and  at 
every  storm  they  go  a  little  farther.  At  the  back 
end  of  the  cave  is  a  beach  of  pebbles.  These 
pebbles  are  the  tools  which  the  waves  have  been 
using  to  wear  away  the  rock. 

Study  the  picture  carefully,  and  you  will  see  a 
broad  line  upon  the  face  of  the  cliff.  It  extends 
from  the  cave  across  the  layers  of  rock,  slanting  up- 


WHAT  WE  SAW   IN   AN  OCEAN   CLIFF.  107 

ward  toward  the  left.  Along  this  line  the  rocks 
have  been  broken  and  ground  to  pieces.  This  is 
called  a  fault,  and  was  formed  long  ago,  during 
a  heavy  earthquake. 

The  sea  bottom  was  being  raised,  when  suddenly 
the  rocks  forming  it  broke,  and  those  on  one  side  of 
the  crack  slipped  past  those  on  the  other.  You  can 
see  from  the  picture  that  this  is  true,  for  the  layers 
on  one  side  do  not  fit  those  upon  the  other. 

The  waves,  dashing  against  the  cliff,  found  the 
broken  place,  and  soon  dug  the  clay  and  pieces  of 
rock  out  of  the  crack.  They  kept  on  enlarging  the 
hole,  until  the  cave  was  formed. 

Our  picture  teaches  another  very  important 
thing.  It  is,  that  breaks  of  the  same  kind  as  that 
in  the  cliff  have  made  some  of  the  great  mountain 
ranges  of  the  world.  Such  is  the  origin  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  the  most  rugged  range  of  moun- 
tains upon  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Perhaps  you  do  not  see  how  such  a  little  crack 
could  make  a  range  of  mountains.  It  is  really 
quite  simple. 

Suppose  you  are  watching  a  carpenter,  who  has 
stacked  up  a  great  pile  of  boards  on  two  saw- 
horses.  You  can  imagine  that  each  board  is  a 
layer  of  rock  which  lies  flat  like  those  in  the  cliff. 

Now  the  carpenter  goes  to  work,  and  after  meas- 
uring the  boards  the  length  he  wishes,  begins  at 


108  WESTERN  SERIES   OF   READERS. 

the  top  of  the  pile,  and  saws  it  into  two  parts. 
There  is  nothing  to  hold  up  the  ends  of  the  pieces, 
and  when  the  last  board  is  cut  they  tip  up,  and  one 
end  of  each  part  falls  to  the  ground. 

The  line  along  which  the  carpenter  has  sawed  the 
boards  into  two  pieces  you  can  imagine  is  a  break 
in  the  crust  of  the  earth.  The  end  of  one  pile  of 
boards  slips  down  past  the  other,  and  forms  a  val- 
ley, while  the  parts  which  stick  up  form  mountain 
ranges. 

The  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  are  represented  by 
the  end  of  the  pile  of  boards  which  sticks  up. 
The  great  desert  basin  of  Nevada  is  represented  by 
the  end  of  the  pile  which  fell  down. 

The  earthquakes  which  we  feel  may  mean  that  the 
rocks  have  slipped  past  each  other  along  a  crack. 
While  the  ends  of  the  board  pile  have  slipped  past 
each  other  only  a  few  feet,  in  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains  the  slip  is  in  some  places  two  miles. 

Our  picture  of  the  sea  cliff  has  made  clear  some 
of  the  most  interesting  things  in  the  formation  of 
the  earth. 


BLACKBOARD   WORDS. 

Stratum  (stra'ttim),  horizontal  (h6r'i-z6n'tal),  carpenter 
(kar'pSn-ter),  Sierra  Nevada  (se-er'ra  ne-va'da). 


WHAT   WE    SAW   IN   AN   OCEAN    CLIFF. 


109 


Horizontal  =  parallel  to  the  horizon;  on  a  level. 
Stratum  =  a  bed  of  earth,  or  rock,  of  one  kind. 
Crust=the  outer  portion  of  the  earth. 

Shale  =  a  sedementary  rock,  formed  of  clay,  having  a  lami- 
nated structure. 

Sandstone  =  a  rock  made  of  grains  of  sand  cemented  together. 
Ebto  tide  =  the  flowing  back  of  the  tide. 


HOW  ISLANDS   ARE   FORMED. 


"SLANDS  are  interesting  things.     What 
fun  it  is  to  discover  an  island, 
and  play  Robinson  Crusoe.    The 
island  may  be  nothing  more  than 
a  sand  bar,  or  a  little  bare  rock, 
but  for  the  boys  it  is  an  island 
just  the  same.     It  calls  up  pic- 
tures of  shipwrecks  in  some  far  away  part  of  the 
world. 

Islands  are  made  in  different  ways,  but  if  there 
were  no  water  there  could  be  no  islands  at  all. 

Suppose  we  try  to  imagine  our  globe  without 
any  water.     Its    whole    surface   would    be    made 
up  of  mountains,  valleys,  and  plains.     Now,  if  on 
this   dry  world   it    should 
rain  torrents  for  years  and 
years,    the     water     would 
run    into    all     the    lowest 
places,  and  form  the  oceans 
which  are  spread  out  be- 
fore us. 

If   more    water 


were 
no 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

What  are  Islands. 
"Water  necessary. 
Ways  In  which  Islands 

are  made. 
Work  of  the  -waves. 
The  tools  of  the  waves. 


112  WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 

turned  into  the  oceans,  they  would  rise  higher, 
and  cover  up  more  of  the  land.  There  are  moun- 
tains beneath  the  sea  just  as  on  the  land,  only  they 
are  not  high  enough  to  rise  above  the  water. 

The  continents  are  the  large  bodies  of  land  which 
stick  up  out  of  the  water.  The  small  ones  are  called 
islands.  You  can  easily  see  that  if  there  were  more 
water,  many  of  the  islands  would  be  entirely  covered 
and  hidden  from  sight.  If  there  were  less  water, 
new  islands  would  stick  their  heads  up. 

You  have  seen  the  same  thing  happen  in  the 
rivers  in  the  summer  time.  As  the  water  goes 
down,  many  little  islands  and  sand  bars  come  into 
sight,  and  some  of  these  you  can  finally  walk  out  to 
without  wetting  your  feet. 

There  is  another  very  different  way  in  which 
islands  are  formed. 

If  you  have  ever  visited  the  sea  shore,  you  have 
seen  how  the  waves  are  always  beating  against 
the  rocks.  Sometimes  the  waves  are  small,  and 
break  very  gently,  but  in  stormy  weather  it  is 
different. 

Water  by  itself  cannot  wear  away  the  hard  rocks. 
It  is  only  when  the  waves  have  something  to  work 
with  that  they  accomplish  anything. 

The  tools  of  the  waves  are  grains  of  sand,  pebbles, 
and  bowlders,  which  lie  along  the  shore.  As  each 
wave  runs  back  you  can  hear  the  rumble  of  the 


HOW    ISLANDS   ABE    FORMED.  113 

pebbles  rolling  down  the  beach.  When  the  next 
wave  comes,  it  picks  them  up  and  hurls  them  with 
great  force  against  the  cliffs. 

With  each  blow  a  little  of  the  rock  is  ground  from 
the  cliff.  When  the  waves  have  succeeded  in  wear- 
ing out  a  hollow  at  the  bottom,  the  cliff  caves 
down.  Each  new  fragment  of  the  rock  cliff  falling 
into  the  ocean  is  in  turn  used  as  a  hammer  by  the 
waves.  In  this  way  they  slowly  eat  into  the  land. 
They  grind  it  away  little  by  little,  in  the  form  of 
sand  and  mud,  which  the  currents  of  water  then 
spread  over  the  ocean  bottom. 

On  some  sea  coasts  the  land  is  being  destroyed  so 
fast  that  houses,  and  even  whole  farms,  are  washed 
away. 

But  you  may  ask  what  has  this  to  do  with  the 
making  of  islands.  Look  closely  at  this  picture  of 
a  wild  part  of  the  California  coast,  and  perhaps  you 
can  tell.  The  first  thing  which  will  attract  your 
attention  are  some  rocky  islands,  with  the  waves 
foaming  all  about  them.  At  the  right  side  of  the 
picture  is  the  mainland  with  which  the  islands 
were  once  connected.  The  broad  strip  of  water  in 
the  front  of  the  picture  was  formerly  occupied  by 
the  land. 

The  waves  hunt  out  all  the  soft  places  in  the  rocky 
cliffs,  just  as  you  would  do  if  the  same  work  were 
given  you.  They  hurl  the  bowlders  and  pebbles. 


114  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

against  the  cliffs,  and  dig  caves  and  passage-ways 
where  the  soft  spots  are. 

After  a  long  time  the  shore  is  dug  into  so  far 
that  bays  are  formed,  where  little  boats  may  anchor 
safely.  Bat  the  harder  rocks  remain  as  headlands, 
or  capes,  between  the  bays. 

The  waves  continue  to  beat  against  the  rocks, 
until  some  of  the  headlands  are  left  entirely  sur- 
rounded by  water.  This  is  the  way  the  islands 
which  appear  in  the  picture  were  made.  How 
boldly  and  defiantly  they  face  the  storms.  At  first, 
they  are  only  a  little  distance  from  the  mainland, 
but  as  the  waves  keep  at  work  they  are  left  farther 
and  farther  out  in  the  ocean. 

The  waves  have  a  long  task  ahead  of  them  to 
tear  the  islands  down.  The  water  is  quite  deep 
about  them,  and  the  pebbles  have  been  washed 
toward  the  shore. 

Under  the  attack  of  the  atmosphere  and  waves  the 
islands  will  finally  crumble  away,  and  in  the  place 
of  each  there  will  be  left  only  a  reef  upon  which  the 
waves  will  break  in  stormy  weather. 

New  islands  will  be  formed  as  long  as  the  waves 
continue  to  tear  down  the  cliffs. 

Islands  assume  strange  shapes  sometimes.  .  If 
you  will  examine  the  picture  carefully,  you  will  see 
that  the  island  farthest  away  looks  very  much  like 
a  lion  at  rest.  It  is  called  Lion  Rock. 


HOW   ISLANDS  ARE  FORMED.  115 

"What  picturesque  rocky  hills  these  islands  would 
make  if  the  sea  should  retreat  and  leave  them  upon 
the  dry  land.  I  suppose  that  all  children  who  know 
anything  about  the  sea,  and  have  wandered  along 
the  shore,  have  ^wished  that  they  could  explore 
the  bottom,  and  climb  up  on  the  rocky  reefs  and 
islands. 

The  sea  birds  use  the  islands  for  nesting  places, 
and  cover  them  with  the  white  guano  which  is  so 
valuable  for  making  land  produce  heavier  crops. 

The  sea  lions  and  seals  also  make  use  of  the 
islands,  for  they  are  more  protected  from  hunters. 
At  certain  seasons  of  the  year  nearly  all  the  rocky 
islands  along  the  coast  of  California  are  inhabited 
by  the  bellowing  sea  lions. 

BLACKBOARD  WORDS. 

Anchor  (an'ker),  picturesque  (pik'tur-6sk'),  guano 
(gwa'nd). 

Hurl  =  to  throw. 

Pebbles  =  small,  rounded  stones. 

Bowlders  =  like  pebbles,  but  much  larger. 

Beach  =  a  sandy,  or  pebbly,  shore. 

Defiantly  =  boldly,  insolently. 

Crumble  =to  break  into  small  pieces. 

Guano  =  deposits  left  by  birds  upon  shores  or  islands. 

Sea  lion  =  a  species  of  seal. 

Seal  =  an  aquatic  mammal. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  YOSEMITE  VALLEY. 


HE  fame  of  the  Yosemite  Valley  has 
gone  all  over  the  world.  People 
travel  thousands  of  miles  for  the  pur- 
pose of  spending  a  few  days  there, 
looking  at  the  cliffs  and  waterfalls. 
What  is  there  about  this  valley 

which   makes  it  so   attractive?     There   are  cliffs 

and  waterfalls  in  other  places. 

We  can  tell  best,  if  we  see  the  valley  with  our 

own  eyes.     It  is  a  long  ride,  up  and  down  wooded 

mountains,  and  by  roaring  streams,  into  the  very 

heart  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains. 

We  begin  to  wonder  where  the  valley  is,  when  all 

at  once,  passing  a  turn  in  the  road,  we  come  out  on 

the  edge  of  a  great  precipice. 
Far  below,  so  far  that  the 

pine  trees  look   like  little 

bushes,   lies   the  beautiful 

Yosemite    Valley.      There 

are    green    meadows    and 

forests,    through    which 

winds  a  shining  river. 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 


of   the    Yo- 


Discovery 

Semite. 

Character  of  the  valley. 
How  formed. 
Work  of  the  streams. 
Work  of  the  glaciers. 


116 


THE   STORY   OF   THE    YOSEMITE  VALLEY.        117 

On  every  side  of  the  valley  rise  walls  of  rock.  In 
some  places,  they  are  almost  a  mile  high.  At  sev- 
eral points  little  streams,  flowing  down  from  the 
higher  mountains  about  the  valley,  tumble  in 
streaks  of  foam  over  the  walls  of  rock. 

The  valley  seems  like  a  picture  in  a  frame  of  bare 
granite  mountains,  and  you  wonder  how  it  came 
there. 

Some  pfeople  have  thought  that,  during  an  earth- 
quake a  long  time  ago,  the  bottom  fell  out  of  the 
mountains,  and  left  the  deep  hole  in  which  the  val- 
ley now  lies.  We  do  not  think  this  is  the  way  it 
was  formed.  We  think  the  brooks  and  rivers  can 
tell  us  more  about  how  it  was  done. 

A  long  time  ago  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains 
were  not  so  high  as  they  are  now.  There  were  no 
deep  canons,  and  bare  granite  peaks,  but  in  their 
places  valleys  and  rolling  hills. 

Then  something  began  to  lift  the  hills  higher  and 
higher.  They  became  colder,  and  it  snowed  and 
rained  a  great  deal.  This  gave  the  rivers  much  to 
do.  They  could  no  longer  play  truant  in  shady 
ponds,  as  they  used  to  do.  They  had  to  run  more 
swiftly  to  reach  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  and  dashed 
from  rock  to  rock  over  their  rough  beds. 

The  streams  said  to  themselves,  if  we  can  only 
wear  the  rocks  away,  and  dig  deep  gorges  between 
the  mountains,  we  shall  then  not  have  to  run  so 


118  WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 

fast,  and  besides,  we  shall  be  hidden  from  the  sun 
the  most  of  the  day. 

They  went  to  work  with  a  will,  and  by  the  aid  of 
the  sand  and  pebbles,  which  the  brooks  brought 
them,  they  ground  away  the  rocks  over  which  they 
flowed,  and  in  this  way  cut  deep  channels. 

Those  rivers,  which  were  the  largest,  and  flowed 
over  the  softest  rock,  accomplished  the  most,  and  at 
last  hid  themselves  deep  down  between  the  moun- 
tain walls. 

In  this  way  the  Merced  got  ahead  of  its  brother 
rivers,  and  dug  out  the  beautiful  Yosemite  Valley. 
It  had  to  carry  away  much  material,  for  the  valley 
is  eight  miles  long,  and  more  than  a  half  a  mile 
wide  and  deep.  But  it  did  it,  nevertheless,  by 
taking  the  rock  away,  a  few  grains  at  a  time.  The 
most  of  this  waste  was  left  in  the  San  Joaquin 
Valley,  and  it  is  this  which  makes  the  great  valley 
smooth  as  a  floor. 

The  Merced  River  had  many  tributaries,  as  it 
flowed  through  the  Yosemite  Valley,  but  they  were 
small,  and  did  not  cut  down  into  the  granite  rock 
as  fast  as  the  main  river  did.  So,  in  order  to  get  to 
the  river,  they  had  to  jump  over  the  great  walls 
about  the  valley.  In  this  way,  the  pretty  water- 
falls were  formed.  Some  of  them  are  so  high  that  the 
water  turns  to  spray  before  it  reaches  the  bottom  of 
the  valley. 


THE   STORY   OP   THE    YOSEMITE   VALLEY.        119 

Now  that  the  valley  was  cut  out,  the  Merced  River 
felt  quite  happy.  Its  work  was  almost  done.  But 
disappointment  came  to  the  river  as  it  does  to 
people.  The  climate  continued  to  grow  colder,  and 
it  snowed  so  much,  that  it  seemed  to  the  river  that 
the  whole  world  must  be  covered  by  the  white  sheet. 

In  the  winter,  the  water  of  the  river  froze,  and  it 
could  not  run,  but  in  the  summer  it  had  to  do 
double  work,  because  of  the  m-elting  snows. 

After  a  time  more  snow  fell  in  the  winter  than 
could  melt  the  coming  summer,  and  it  increased  so 
much  that  it  began  to  slide  down  the  mountain 
sides  and  to  fill  up  the  canons  which  the  rivers 
had  dug. 

The  snow  became  hard  and  icy  like  the  snow- 
balls which  the  boys  have  made  on  a  warm  after- 
noon and  left  out  over  night  to  freeze.  The  valley 
of  the  Merced  River  was  filled  at  last  with  the  ice. 
It  moved  along  so  slowly  that  one  would  have  had 
to  watch  it  a  long  time  to  be  sure  that  it  did 
move. 

You  can  imagine  how  the  ice  acted  by  watching 
a  little  stream  of  molasses  on  a  cold  morning,  only 
that  the  molasses  is  sticky,  while  the  ice  was  not. 

Such  a  stream  of  ice  is  called  a  glacier,  and  this 
cold  time  upon  the  mountains  the  Glacial  period. 

How  the  glacier  did  tear  the  mountain  sides  as 
it  moved  down  the  valley !  It  broke  off  all  the  pro- 


120  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

jecting  points  of  rock  and  scraped  them  along,  pol- 
ishing the  old  bed  of  the  river  and  the  sides  of  the 
canon. 

For  many  years  the  ice  filled  the  valleys,  and 
they  would  surely  have  been  forgotten  if  any  one 
had  lived  in  California  then. 

The  cold  came  to  an  end,  however,  and  the  ice 
melted  away,  giving  the  valley  over  to  the  river 
again. 

The  river  hardly  recognized  its  old  home.  Every- 
thing was  greatly  changed.  All  the  trees  and  soil 
had  been  carried  away  by  the  ice,  and  there  was 
nothing  but  barren  granite.  How  the  granite  did 
shine  in  the  sunlight!  It  was  polished  in  many 
places  as  smooth  as  a  mirror. 

The  river  did  not  have  as  quiet  a  time  in  the 
Yosemite  Valley  as  it  used  to.  Great  bowlders, 
which  the  glacier  had  dropped,  were  strewn  all 
over  it,  and  the  river  had  to  hunt  for  a  new 
channel. 

The  river  went  to  work  to  make  the  valley 
smooth  and  fertile  as  it  was  before,  but  it  was  very 
slow  work.  The  ice  had  swept  every  bit  of  soil 
from  the  mountain  slopes,  and  it  was  some  time 
before  the  rain  and  frost  could  pry  the  particles  of 
the  rock  apart,  and  furnish  sand  and  clay  for  the 
brooks  to  carry  to  the  river. 

At  last  the  river  succeeded  in  covering  up  the 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   YOSEMITE   VALLEY.        121 

most  of  the  bowlders  in  the  valley,  and  grass  and 
trees  sprang  up.  Innumerable  bright  flowers  cov- 
ered the  bottom  lands,  and  in  the  meadows  the  red 
strawberries  grew  without  any  one  but  the  birds  to 
eat  them. 

What  a  happy  valley  this  was,  all  shut  in  from 
the  outside  world !  The  wild  animals  made  it  their 
home,  but  there  was  no  one  to  see  the  grand  cliffs 
and  beautiful  waterfalls.  The  animals  thought  only 
of  something  to  eat  and  a  comfortable  home  in 
the  winter.  The  brooks,  as  they  jumped  over  the 
cliffs  in  haste  to  join  the  river  in  the  valley  below, 
sang  to  the  empty  air. 

Time  went  on,  until  some  Indians,  hunting 
through  the  woods  which  had  grown  up  on  the 
surrounding  mountains,  accidentally  came  to  the 
edge  of  the  cliffs  and  looked  over. 

The  valley  seemed  so  inviting  that  they  went 
back  for  their  friends;  then  they  all  climbed  down 
the  steep  walls  into  the  valley,  and  made  their 
homes  there. 

When  the  miners  came  to  the  mountains,  the 
Indians  frequently  went  out  on  stealing  expedi- 
tions. They  were  often  followed,  but  for  a  long 
time  succeeded  in  escaping  to  their  well-hidden 
homes. 

One  day  they  were  less  fortunate,  and  were  traced 
to  the  valley,  where  a  fight  took  place.  The  miners 


122  WESTERN   SERIES   OF  READERS. 

drove  the  Indians  out  and  took  possession  of  the 
beautiful  valley. 

It  was  so  difficult  to  get  into  the  valley,  that  for  a 
long  time  but  little  was  known  about  it.  When  the 
rude  trails  were  replaced  by  smooth  roads,  many 
people  went  to  visit  it,  and  the  story  of  the  wonder- 
ful valley  spread  all  over  the  world. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Yosemite  (yo-s6in'i-te),  gorge  (gorj),  accomplished  (ak- 
kSm'plisht)  San  Joaquin  (san-wah-keen),  tributary  (trlb'u- 
ta-ry),  glacier  (gla/sher  or  glas'i-er),  recognized  (r£k'6g-niz'd), 
polished  (pdl'-isht),  strewn  (strun  or  stron),  expedition  (£ks' 
pe-dish'un),  possession  (p6z-ze"sh'un),  fortunate  (ior'tu-nat). 


Tributary  =  a  stream  flowing  into  a  larger  river  or  lake. 
Granite  =  a  rock  formed  of  quartz,  feldspar,  and  mica. 
Gorge  =  a  narrow  passage  between  mountains. 
Fertile  =  fruitful,  productive. 
Trail  =  a  path  or  road  through  a  wild  region. 


WHEN  THE   MASTODON   LIVED. 


OST  of  us  have  seen  the  elephant, 
with  his  curious  trunk,  great  dan- 
gling ears,  and  stumpy  legs.  How 
alarmed  we  should  be  to  meet 
some  day  a  number  of  these  ani- 
mals roaming  wild  in  the  woods! 

If  we  had  lived  here  several 
thousand  years  ago,  however,  we 
should  have  become  as  used  to 

elephants    as    the    people    of   Africa     and    India 

now  are. 

We  cannot  realize  how  long  a  time  a  thousand 

years  is,  for  even  one  year 

seems   to    pass  so    slowly. 

All   that  we  can  know  is 

that  a  long  time  ago,  when 

our     Pacific    Coast    home 

was  very   different,   many 

strange  animals  lived  here. 

Among  them  was  one  great 

animal  in  particular,  which 

looked  much  like  the  ele- 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Fossil  bones. 

The  mastodon. 

Animals  living  with  the 
mastodon. 

The  glacial  period. 

Santa  Barbara  Islands. 

The  teeth  of  plant- 
eaters.  (See  text-books 
upon  geology.) 


123 


WHEN   THE    MASTODON    LIVED.  125 

phant,  only  that  it  was  larger,  had  long  shaggy 
hair  and  great  curved  tusks. 

We  have  read  of  such  animals  having  been  found 
frozen  in  the  snow  of  the  far  north,  but  what  reason 
have  we  to  suppose  that  they  ever  lived  in  California? 

It  came  about  in  this  way.  One  of  the  streams 
where  we  used  to  fish  had  been  swollen  by  days  of 
heavy  rain,  and  as  it  rushed  along,  it  tore  away  the 
grassy  bank  in  many  places.  Half  a  mile  below  the 
house  it  formed  a  cliff,  about  forty  feet  high.  Here 
we  went  to  hunt  for  the  smooth  and  prettily  colored 
pebbles  which  had  washed  out  of  the  bank. 

One  day  we  found  that  the  water  had  exposed 
something  very  different.  There  were  some  giant 
bones  sticking  out  of  the  hard  clay,  some  fragments 
of  tusks,  teeth  as  large  as  our  heads,  and  leg  bones 
fully  four  feet  long. 

We  had  never  seen  an  animal  which  was  as 
large  as  this  one  must  have  been  when  it  was  alive. 
Even  the  elephant  at  the  show  could  not  have  stood 
more  than  half  as  high.  We  had  heard  stories  of 
great  animals  which  had  lived  here  before  people 
came,  but  they  never  seemed  true.  It  was  said 
that  these  animals  roamed  about  our  home  in  the 
foothills,  eating  the  leaves  and  branches  of  the 
trees,  and  that  when  they  died  their  bones  were 
covered  up  in  the  gravel  of  the  creeks  or  in  the 
mud  of  the  lakes. 


126  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

We  asked  an  old  man,  who  seemed  to  know  a 
great  deal,  to  come  and  help  us  dig  the  bones  out. 
When  they  were  all  lying  on  the  bank  we  sat  down  to 
rest,  and  he  told  us  many  things  about  this  animal 
and  the  time  when  it  lived. 

He  said  that  these  fossil  bones  belonged  to  a 
mastodon,  and  that  it  lived  so  long  ago  that  we 
would  grow  tired  trying  to  think  how  long.  He 
said  also  that  we  would  not  have  known  the  coun- 
try around  our  home.  The  most  of  the  plants  and 
trees  were  different,  and  there  were  many  other 
strange  animals  besides  the  mastodon. 

This  was  all  so  new  to  us,  and  so  interesting,  that 
we  wanted  to  know  more  about  those  times,  and  so 
he  continued. 

Before  the  mastodon  lived  here  the  country  was 
warm,  and  the  mountains  not  so  high  as  they 
are  now.  But  there  came  a  time  when  the  land 
began  to  rise,  and  as  it  rose  the  climate  became 
colder,  until  snow,  instead  of  rain,  fell  on  all  the 
hills  and  mountains. 

Jack  Frost,  who  loves  cold  weather,  gradually  ex- 
tended his  kingdom  over  all  the  high  mountains  of 
the  Pacific  Coast.  Every  winter  it  became  a  little 
colder  and  a  little  more  stormy.  The  winter  snows 
grew  deep,  and  covered  up  all  the  bare  rocks,  and 
at  last,  even  the  tallest  trees  were  completely  hid- 
den. The  animals  and  birds  who  made  their  homes 


WHEN   THE   MASTODON   LIVED.  127 

in  the  mountains,  either  died  or  moved  into  the  val- 
ley, where  it  was  still  warm. 

The  country  kept  rising,  until  the  shore  of  the 
ocean  was  farther  west.  It  was  at  last  all  dry  land 
between  the  Santa  Barbara  islands  and  the  present 
mainland. 

What  a  strange  looking  country  it  was.  The 
mountains,  so  cold  and  white,  rose  above  the  val- 
leys where  trees  and  grasses  abounded,  and  all  sorts 
of  queer  animals  chased  each  other  through  the 
brush  or  nibbled  the  grass  of  the  meadows. 

There  were  several  kinds  of  elephant-like  ani- 
mals, of  which  the  mastodon  was  the  largest.  The 
teeth  that  we  have  found  show  us  that  these 
animals  were  plant-eaters,  for  the  surfaces  of  the 
teeth  are  flat,  and  fit  for  grinding  the  leaves  and 
stems  of  plants  rather  than  for  tearing  flesh. 

We  can  picture  to  ourselves  herds  of  these 
clumsy,  shaggy  creatures  as  they  fed  upon  the 
brush  in  some  shady  spot.  All  at  once,  perhaps, 
they  start  to  run,  as  a  lion,  as  fierce  as  any  in  the 
African  jungle,  bounds  into  their  midst,  and  the 
earth  shakes  beneath  their  great  feet. 

In  another  place  might  be  seen  a  group  of  ani- 
mals, appearing  much  like  the  camel,  only  larger. 
They  were  the  ancestors  of  the  llama,  of  South 
America,  which  the  Indians  use  for  pack-animals. 

In  addition  to  the  sloth  and  tapir,  which  are  not 


128  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

found  now  in  North  America,  there  were  wild  hogs 
and  wolves  and  deer.  The  ferocious  looking  buffalo 
may  also  be  added  to  our  picture. 

Two  kinds  of  wild  horses  wandered  through  the 
larger  valleys.  One  of  them  was  a  third  larger  than 
any  living  now.  We  wonder  what  has  become  of 
them,  for  when  America  was  discovered  there  were 
no  wild  horses  here.  The  great  bands  of  horses 
which  used  to  roam  over  the  plains  of  Texas  and 
South  America  descended  from  the  horses  which  the 
Spaniards  brought  over  with  them. 

The  ice  and  snow  covered  the  mountains  for  many 
centuries.  At  last  a  change  came.  Not  so  much 
snow  fell  during  the  winter,  and  in  the  summer 
more  of  it  melted,  so  that  the  rocky  peaks  began  to 
appear  here  and  there.  The  glaciers,  which  are 
only  streams  of  ice,  melted  slowly,  and  the  rivers 
were  high  and  thick  with  mud. 

The  climate  changed  in  the  valleys.  The  animals 
of  which  we  have  been  talking  did  not  seem  so  nu- 
merous. Many  of  them  were  sensitive  to  changes, 
and  as  less  rain  fell,  and  the  plants  began  to  dry 
up,  they  disappeared  one  by  one.  Some  of  these 
animals  went  to  other  regions  and  some  died.  Many 
skeletons  were  scattered  around  in  the  sun ;  these  soon 
decayed  and  disappeared.  A  few  were  preserved  by 
being  buried  in  the  swamps  and  river  bottoms. 
These  are  the  ones  which  we  often  find  to-day. 


WHEN    THE    MASTODON    LIVED.  129 

The  mastodons  and  other  animals,  as  they  fed 
here  and  there,  had  wandered  out  to  the  region  of 
the  Santa  Barbara  islands.  When  the  climate  be- 
came warmer,  it  was  because  of  the  fact  that  the 
land  was  sinking.  So,  by  and  by,  the  sea  again 
flowed  in  through  the  Santa  Barbara  channel  and 
cut  the  animals  off,  so  that  they  could  not  retreat 
to  the  mainland.  They  died  there,  and  the  rains 
washed  soil  over  many  of  their  skeletons.  The 
waves  are  now  at  work  tearing  down  the  islands, 
and  as  they  wash  away  the  cliffs,  the  buried  bones 
of  these  old  animals  are  frequently  exposed. 

As  the  climate  continued  to  grow  warm,  different 
plants  and  animals  took  the  places  of  those  that 
had  died,  for  we  know  that  every  living  thing  is 
adapted  to  the  place  in  which  it  is  found. 

The  plants  which  had  come  down  from  the  north 
with  the  cold  of  the  Glacial  period,  for  that  is  what 
we  call  the  time  when  the  mountains  were  so 
snowy,  retreated  as  the  snow  melted.  We  still  find 
a  few  of  them  living  on  the  highest  mountains, 
where  the  cold  yet  remains. 

For  many  long  years  after  the  ice  and  snow  left 
the  mountains,  they  showed  nothing  but  bare  rock. 
Little  by  little  the  soil  gathered,  the  winds  and 
birds  carried  seeds,  and  the  trees,  bushes,  and 
grasses  began  to  grow.  With  the  new  vegetation 
came  the  animals  which  are  now  living  here. 


130  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

Since  the  Pacific  Coast  has  been  settled,  we  have 
found  large  numbers  of  the  bones  of  the  animals 
which  used  to  live  here.  Having  the  bones,  we 
can  tell  a  great  deal  about  those  ancient  times.  Do 
you  not  think  it  is  interesting  to  know  what  hap- 
pened on  our  earth  long  before  we  were  here  ? 

Summer  and  winter  succeeded  each  other  many 
times,  and  California  came  to  look  much  as  it  does 
now.  We  are  not  certain  that  the  Indians  lived 
here  with  the  mastodon,  but  they  must  have  had 
their  homes  here  for  centuries  before  the  early  ex- 
plorers came. 

After  what  our  wise  old  friend  had  told  us,  the 
great  bones  upon  the  bank  seemed  full  of  stories  of 
the  past.  We  imagined  them  alive  again,  and 
clothed  with  flesh,  and  the  mastodon  feeding  in  the 
valley,  at  the  foot  of  the  snowy  mountains. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Elephant  (eTe-fant),  mastodon  (mas't5-d6n),  fossil  (f6s'- 
sil),  jungle  (jun'g'l),  llama  (lii'ma),  sloth  (sloth),  tapir  (ta'per) 
centuries  (sen'tu-riz),  glacier  (gla'sher). 


Mastodon  =  an  extinct  animal,  related  to  the  elephant. 
Fossil  =the  remains  of  an  animal  dug  from  the  earth. 
Jungle      a  dense  growth  of  brushwood,  grasses,  etc. 


WHEN   THE   MASTODON   LIVED.  131 

Glacier  =  a  stream  of  ice,  slowly  moving  down  a  mountain  or 

valley. 
Llama  =  an  American  ruminant,  allied  to  the  camel,  but  with 

no  hump. 
Tapir  =a  hoofed  animal,  with  five  toes  on  the  front  feet  and 

three  on  the  hind  feet. 
Climate  =  the  condition  of  a  place  with  reference  to  heat  and 

moisture. 
Glacial    Period  =  a  time  when    large   glaciers  covered  the 

northern  and  central  portions  of  America  and  Europe. 


THE  MAKING   OF    MOUNTAINS. 


E  have  learned  from  our  study  of 
the  ocean  cliff,  that  earthquakes 
and  the  formation  of  long  cracks 
in  the  earth,  have  much  to  do 
with  the  making  of  some  kinds 
of  mountains.  We  have  also 

learned  how  great  volcanoes  like  Mount  Shasta  are 

built  up. 

There  is  still  another  way  in  which  mountains 

arise,  and  we  can  understand   it  by  studying  an 

apple. 

We  have  all  noticed  how  wrinkled  the  skin  of  an 

apple  becomes  when  it  stands  for  a  time  in  the  dry 

air.      The    apple    shrinks, 

because  some  of  the  juice 

evaporates.      The    skin    is 

then  left  too  large,  and  as 

it  clings  tightly  to  the  pulp 

underneath,    it    is    finally 

obliged  to  wrinkle. 

Nearly  all  the  substances 

of  which  the  earth  is  made, 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

A  shrinking  apple. 

Original  condition  of  the 
earth. 

A  cooling  earth. 

Effect  upon  the  crust. 

Folded  strata. 

The  formation  of  moun- 
tains. 


133 


134  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

shrink  as  they  become  cooler,  and  expand  with 
increase  of  heat.  The  earth,  as  you  have  learned, 
was  once  hot  all  over.  It  has  now  become  cold, 
and  hard  upon  the  outside,  but  it  is  still  hot 
and  soft  inside.  This  inner  part  of  the  earth  far 
below  us  is  cooling  all  of  the  time,  and  as  it  does 
so,  it  shrinks,  leaving  the  hard  crust  upon  which  we 
stand,  too  large. 

Now,  what  happens?  The  crust  has  to  settle  down, 
and  in  doing  so,  it  forms  folds,  just  as  the  skin  does 
upon  an  apple. 

A  large  part  of  the  crust  of  the  earth  is  arranged 
in  layers.  There  are  layers  of  pebbles,  sandstone, 
clay,  and  other  rocks.  These,  when  they  are 
formed  in  the  bed  of  an  ocean  or  lake,  are  nearly 
level.  When  the  crust  of  the  earth  folds,  these 
layers  are  tipped  up  at  all  sorts  of  angles. 

We  cannot  go  into  the  canons  in  any  portion  of 
the  Coast  Ranges  without  seeing  these  layers  stand- 
ing more  or  less  steeply.  It  is  easy  to  make  some 
of  the  wrinkles  or  folds,  in  the  same  way  that  those 
upon  the  earth  are  made.  We  will  take  some  sheets 
of  paper,and  holding  the  opposite  sides  in  each  hand, 
shove  them  together.  The  paper  will  bend  in  folds. 

The  folds  upon  the  earth  are  sometimes  so  large 
that  they  form  high  mountains.  We  can  often  see 
the  layers  arching  like  a  rainbow  upon  the  sides  of 
the  canons. 


THE   MAKING    OP    MOUNTAINS.  135 

Our  picture  shows  some  folded  rocks  upon  the 
coast  of  California.  These  layers  of  sandstone, 
which  are  now  folded  into  the  form  of  a  letter  S, 
were  once  flat  and  even.  We  can  hardly  imagine 
what  a  great  force  it  requires  to  bend  solid  rocks  in 
this  manner. 

If  the  skin  of  an  apple  consisted  of  layers,  they 
would  appear  folded,  just  as  the  rocks  are  in  the 
picture. 


A  SHRUNKEN  APPLE. 


AN  EXTINCT  VOLCANO: 


E  have  all  been  startled  at  some 
time  or  other  by  the  sudden 
escape  of  steam  from  the  safety- 
valve  of  an  engine. 

With  a  loud,  explosive  noise, 
the  steam  bursts  out  for  a 
moment,  and  then  stops. 

The  engine-boiler  is  made  in  such  a  way  that, 
when  the  pressure  of  the  steam  inside  has  reached 
the  limit  of  safety,  some  of  it  can  escape.  If  it 
were  not  for  the  safety- 
valve,  the  boiler  might  be 
blown  to  pieces. 

Did  you  ever  think  that 
there  are  mountains  on 
our  earth  which  behave 
much  like  the  safety-valve 
of  an  engine?  Such  moun- 
tains are  called  volcanoes. 

The  ground  over  which 
we  walk  seems  perfectly 
firm  and  solid,  yet  the 


REFERENCE  TOPICS. 

The  cause  of  volcanoes. 

How  volcanoes  are 
made. 

A  volcano  in  action. 

Extinct  volcanoes. 

Mount  Shasta. 

Cascade  Range. 

Late  volcanic  eruption 
in  California.  (See 
Physiography  of  the  United 
States  for  further  informa- 
tion.) 


137 


138  WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 

earthquakes  which  shake  it  once  in  a  while,  and 
the  volcanic  eruptions,  teach  us  that  there  are 
giant  forces  shut  up  within  it. 

Miles  below  our  feet  the  heat  is  so  great  that  the 
rocks  are  melted,  just  as  the  iron  is  in  a  furnace. 
There  is  steam  in  those  regions  also,  and  it  is  try- 
ing to  get  out  in  the  same  way  that  the  steam  tries 
to  get  out  of  the  engine-boiler. 

Water  soaks  down  through  the  rocks  to  these  hot 
regions,  and  is  there  changed  to  steam.  When  the 
pressure  of  the  steam  becomes  too  great,  it  blows  a 
hole  thro  ugh  the  crust  of  the  earth  at  some  weak  spot. 

The  steam  is  mixed  with  the  melted  rock  or 
lava,  and  when  it  makes  a  hole  to  the  surface,  the 
whole  mass  is  blown  high  in  the  air.  This  is  the 
beginning  of  a  volcano. 

Some  of  the  lava  is  blown  into  pieces  so  small 
that  they  seem  like  dust,  and  float  many  miles 
before  settling  to  the  ground.  These  fine  particles 
are  called  volcanic  ashes. 

The  heavier  pieces  do  not  float  away  in  the  wind, 
but  fall  back  around  the  mouth  of  the  volcano. 
Some  of  them  look  like  masses  of  slag  from  a  fur- 
nace, and  are  known  as  cinders.  Others  are  heavy 
and  round  like  cannon  balls,  and  are  called  bombs. 

This  material  gradually  builds  up  a  rim  about 
the  opening.  The  basin-like  depression  thus 
formed  in  the  center  is  called  the  crater. 


AN   EXTINCT    VOLCANO.  139 

Mount  Shasta  is  the  most  perfect  of  the  great 
volcanoes  upon  the  Pacific  Coast.  There  it  stands 
in  Northern  California,  so  tall  and  grand,  a  giant 
among  the  other  mountains.  Through  the  long 
summer,  its  cap  of  pure  white  snow  attracts  you. 
Is  there  anything  so  wonderful  as  this  great  moun- 
tain rising  three  miles  above  the  level  of  the  sea  ? 

Yet  a  long  time  ago  this  mountain  began  as  a 
little  volcano.  If  we  could  have  stood  then  upon  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  and  looked  down  into  the 
crater,  we  would  have  seen  some  interesting  things 
taking  place. 

We  would  have  seen  the  red-hot  lava  with  the 
steam  rising  from  its  surface,  once  in  a  while 
settling  down  almost  out  of  sight  in  the  throat  of 
the  volcano,  and  showing  a  tube-like  opening 
leading  down  into  the  earth. 

Then  the  lava  would  rise  again,  bubbling  with 
the  escaping  steam,  just  as  a  pudding  does.  As 
each  bubble  broke,  a  great  cloud  of  steam  would 
escape. 

When  more  steam  had  formed  than  could  escape 
in  this  way,  it  would  gradually  lift  the  whole  mass 
of  lava,  until  boiling  and  foaming,  it  would  run 
over  the  lowest  place  in  the  rim  of  the  crater,  and 
down  the  side  of  the  mountain. 

If  we  had  been  there  when  the  explosions  took 
place,  it  would  have  been  very  dangerous.  We 


140  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

should  have  had  to  crawl  under  some  projecting 
rock,  to  escape  being  hit  by  the  chunks  of  the  fall- 
ing lava,  which  had  been  blown  into  the  air. 

The  heat,  the  steam,  the  poisonous  air,  and  the 
glare  of  the  lava  at  night,  would  have  been  terrify- 
ing. Then,  when  the  explosions  took  place,  it 
would  have  seemed  as  if  the  whole  mountain  were 
being  blown  into  the  air. 

Just  watch  your  mother  make  a  hasty  pudding 
some  day,  and  you  will  get  an  idea  of  how  the  lava 
acts.  If  the  bubbles  of  steam  should  blow  some  of 
the  hot  pudding  in  your  face,  it  will  seem  all  the 
more  real. 

A  volcano  not  only  acts  like  a  safety-valve,  but 
like  a  cannon  as  well.  The  steam  blows  the  lava 
up  through  the  throat  of  the  volcano,  as  powder 
does  the  shot  from  the  cannon.  The  comparison 
is  all  the  more  real,  because  the  masses  of  lava 
hurled  into  the  air  are  called  bombs. 

Some  of  the  lava  which  flowed  out  cooled  around 
the  top.  This,  together  with  the  chunks  which  were 
thrown  out,  slowly  built  up  the  top  of  the  volcano. 
At  last,  it  towered  high  above  all  the  surrounding 
mountains. 

How  the  ashes  and  lava  desolated  the  country 
around  the  volcano !  One  stream  of  lava  reached 
the  canon  of  the  Sacramento  River,  and  followed  it 
for  nearly  fifty  miles.  The  heat  of  the  lava  turned 


AN    EXTINCT    VOLCANO.  141 

the  river  to  steam,  and  not  until  the  lava  cooled 
could  the  river  flow  there  again. 

The  lava  was  so  hard,  that  when  the  river  did 
begin  to  flow  again,  it  cut  a  new  channel  by  the 
side  of  the  old  one,  which  the  lava  had  filled  up. 

Mount  Shasta  now  stands  there  so  quiet,  it  is  hard 
to  imagine  the  exciting  events  of  its  history.  All 
the  volcanoes  along  the  line  of  the  Cascade  Range, 
including  Mt.  Hood  and  Mt.  Rainier,  are  now  ex- 
tinct. By  that  we  mean  that  the  lava  in  their 
throats  has  become  cold  and  hard,  and  the  openings 
far  down  into  the  earth,  through  which  the  steam 
hurled  the  lava,  are  closed. 

Mount  Shasta  was  the  last  of  these  volcanoes  to 
become  extinct.  It  has  probably  not  been  so,  very 
many  centuries,  for  there  are  several  places  upon 
its  summit  where  the  hot  sulphurous  gases  still 
issue  from  the  crevices  in  the  lava.  In  fact,  we  are 
not  quite  sure  that  Mount  Shasta  is  extinct.  It 
may  break  out  again  some  time. 

You  know  that  Vesuvius,  that  great  volcano  on 
the  Bay  of  Naples,  was  supposed  to  be  extinct 
nearly  two  thousand  years  ago.  The  people,  who 
lived  there,  had  no  traditions  of  its  ever  having 
been  in  eruption.  They  built  villages  and  set  out 
vineyards  on  its  slopes. 

It  broke  forth  again,  without  warning,  in  the  year 
79  A.D.  Streams  of  lava  flowed  down  the  mountain, 


142  WESTERN  SERIES   OF   READERS. 

destroying  everything  in  their  path.  Clouds  of  vol- 
canic ashes  also  fell,  burying  whole  cities,  which 
remained  there  undisturbed  for  centuries  until 
they  were  almost  forgotten. 

Near  Lassen's  Peak,  which  is  also  a  volcano,  there 
is  a  stream  of  lava  which  must  have  issued  from 
the  earth  not  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago. 
The  trunks  of  pine  trees,  which  were  killed  by  the 
falling  ashes,  are  still  standing. 

If  Mount  Shasta  is  really  a  dead  volcano,  the  rain, 
and  frost,  and  little  rivulets,  will  gradually  tear  it 
down.  They  are  at  work  upon  it  now,  but  so  slowly 
do  they  work,  that  it  will  be  many  centuries  before 
they  will  succeed  in  affecting  it  very  much. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Valve  (valv),  volcano  (v61-ka'no),  cinder  (sin'der), 
bombs  (b6ms  or  bums),  terrifying  (ter'ri-fi'-ing),  explosion 
(eks-plo'zhun),  centuries  (sen'tu-riz),  extinct  (Sks-tinkt'). 


Valve  =  a  lid  opening  only  one  way. 

Steam  =  the  vapor  of  boiling  water. 

Foam  =an   aggregation  of  bubbles   upon   the   surface   of  a 

liquid. 
Extinct  =  extinguished,  put  out. 


CAVES. 


| HAT  delights  the  boys  most  when 
they  are  climbing  among  the 
rocks  is  to  find  a  cave.  There 
is  something  very  attractive  to 
them  about  a  hole  in  the  ground. 
They  want  to  explore  it  at  once, 
and  see  where  it  leads  to. 

It  may  be  that  boys  like  caves  so  well  because 
our  ancestors  used  to  live  in  them,  and  found  them 
of  great  protection  at  many  times. 

In  rocky  countries,  many  animals  make  their  per- 
manent homes  in  caves.  The  greatest  caves  that  we 
know  anything  about  are  in  Kentucky.  The  largest 
is  the  Mammoth  Cave,  in  which  one  can  walk  for 
miles  without  ever  coming 
out  to  the  light.  Caves 
like  these  in  the  limestone 
are  made  by  running  water. 
The  rain  water  soaks  down 
through  the  soil  and  into 
the  cracks  in  the  lime- 
stone. Little  by  little  it 


REFERENCE  TOPICS. 

Mammoth  Cave. 
Kinds  of  caves. 
Caves  in  the  lava. 
Effect  of  caves  upon  sur- 
face -water. 
Streams  in  caves. 


143 


CAVES.  145 

dissolves  the  rock,  and  after  a  time  great  caverns 
are  formed,  through  which  the  streams  run. 

There  are  a  few  caves  in  the  limestone  upon 
the  Pacific  Coast,  but  no  very  large  or  interesting 
ones. 

Many  caves  are  formed  in  other  ways.  Ocean 
waves  are  interested  in  caves.  They  have  slowly 
worn  them  out  of  the  cliffs,  against  which  they  are 
perpetually  dashing. 

Ocean  caves  were  years  ago,  the  favorite  resort  of 
smugglers  and  pirates,  and  many  interesting  stories 
have  been  written  about  them. 

Some  of  the  caves  into  which  the  ocean  used  to 
dash  are  now  above  the  reach  of  the  waves.  That 
many  of  them  have  been  used  as  camping-places  by 
the  Indians,  is  shown  by  the  smoked  walls. 

The  most  interesting  caves  are  found  in  the  lava- 
fields  of  the  Northwest.  The  lava  rocks  which  cover 
so  much  of  Northeastern  California,  Oregon,  and 
Washington  are  full  of  holes  and  cracks  and  under- 
ground passage-ways. 

There  are  many  things  which  make  us  believe 
that  there  are  caves  all  over  this  region.  In  riding 
over  the  lava,  the  rock  frequently  sounds  hollow 
under  the  horses'  feet.  Besides  this,  there  is  little 
surface  water  for  miles.  The  water  from  the  snow 
and  rain,  runs  into  the  cracks  in  the  lava  and  gath- 
ers in  underground  streams. 


146  WESTERN    SERIES    OF   READERS. 

In  some  places  the  caves  have  fallen  in,  and  we 
can  actually  explore  them. 

These  caves  are  very  different  from  those  in  the 
limestone  on  the  seashore.  They  were  not  made  by 
water,  but  by  the  lava  when  it  cooled,  and  the 
water  has  simply  made  use  of  them. 

Some  of  the  underground  passages  must  be  many 
miles  in  length.  North  of  Mount  Shasta  there  is  one 
called  Pluto's  Cave.  It  was  formed  by  a  long,  narrow 
stream  of  lava.  A  crust  of  solid  lava  formed  on 
the  outside  of  the  stream  while  it  was  still  hot  and 
soft  inside.  What  do  you  suppose  happened  then? 
It  was  a  very  strange  thing.  The  insiole  flowed  on 
and  left  the  hardened  shell.  Thus  a  long  hollow 
tube  was  formed,  which  looked  on  the  inside  some- 
thing like  a  railroad  tunnel. 

This  cave  has  been  followed  more  than  a  mile 
without  finding  the  end.  It  is  very  rough  inside, 
and  the  walls,  where  they  have  not  caved,  show  the 
hollows  and  ridges  of  the  crust.  The  cave  is  in 
places  eighty  feet  high  and  seventy  feet  broad. 

It  is  a  queer  sensation  to  climb  through  one  of 
these  caves,  where  a  red-hot  and  steaming  lava 
stream  once  flowed. 

In  the  Modoc  lava-beds  there  are  many  such 
caves  partly  broken  in.  It  is  here,  you  will  remem- 
ber, that  Captain  Jack  and  the  Modoc  Indians  took 
their  stand  against  the  soldiers.  The  Indians  took 


CAVES.  147 

refuge  in  the  caves,  where  there  was  plenty  of 
water.  They  knew  the  country  perfectly,  and  it 
would  have  taken  an  army  to  have  driven  them  out. 

The  caves  through  which  the  underground 
streams  flow  are  generally  too  small  to  explore,  be- 
sides, one  would  be  troubled  with  the  water.  Many 
of  them  are  deep  under  the  lava,  and  would  never 
be  known  if  it  were  not  for  the  canons  which 
cross  this  region. 

The  canons  have  been  formed  by  the  larger 
rivers  flowing  across  the  lava-beds.  Many  of  the 
streams  underneath  the  lava  are  thus  exposed. 
Some  of  them  are  so  large  that  we  might  call  them 
rivers.  A  perfect  torrent  of  water  pours  out  of  an 
underground  passage  in  the  canon  of  the  upper 
McCloud  River.  The  volume  of  water  is  so  great 
that  it  doubles  the  size  of  the  stream. 

Moss  Brae  Falls,  in  the  canon  of  the  Sacramento 
River,  has  the  same  origin.  It  comes,  under  the 
lava,  from  Mount  Shasta,  fully  twenty  miles  away. 
The  water  is  pure,  and  almost  ice-cold.  It  never 
sees  the  light  of  day  after  leaving  the  melting 
snows  high  on  the  slope  of  Shasta  until  it  runs  down 
over  the  fern-covered  ledges  into  the  Sacramento 
River. 

Other  large  springs  issue  from  under  the  ends  of 
lava-beds.  Springs  of  this  kind  form  Fall  River, 
an  important  tributary  of  the  Pitt  River.  An  in- 


148  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

teresting  feature  of  rivers  that  are  formed  of  such 
springs  is  that  they  flow  nearly  the  same  size  the 
year  around. 

One  of  the  springs  which  forms  Fall  River  is  so 
large  that  it  has  been  used  to  run  a  saw-mill. 

Other  springs  of  equal  size  are  scattered  all  along 
the  base  of  the  Cascade  Range. 

All  these  things  show  us  that  caves  are  among 
the  most  interesting  features  of  the  lava-beds. 


BLACKBOARD     WORDS. 

Attractive  (at-trakt'-iv),  favorite  (fa'ver-It).  soldier  (sol' 
jer),  tributary  (trib'u-ta-ry),  feature  (fe'tur). 


Limestone  =  a  rock  made  of  carbonate  of  lime. 

Mt.  Shasta  =  an  extinct  volcano,  in  Northern  California. 

Modoc  Lava  Beds  =  A  rugged  field  of  lava  in  Northeastern 
California. 

Smuggler  =  one  who  brings  into,  or  ships  goods  out  of  a  coun- 
try without  paying  duties. 

Pirate  =  one  who  robs  on  the  seas. 

Explore  =  to  search  carefully. 


CRATER  LAKE. 


UR  world  is  very  old,  and  many 
things  have  happened  upon  it 
since  it  began  moving  around  the 
sun.  We  would  have  opened  our 
eyes  very  wide  at  some  of  these 
things  if  we  had  been  there  to  see 
them. 

The  ocean  now  covers  sunken  continents,  where 
wild  animals  once  roamed  and  trees  waved  their 
branches  in  the  wind.  Sea  shells  upon  the  moun- 
tain tops  tell  an  equally  wonderful  story  of  sea 
bottoms  which  have  become  dry  land. 

There  was  a  time,  long  before  people  lived  upon 
the  earth,  when  central  Oregon  was  beneath  the 
sea.  The  ocean  did  not 
always  remain  there,  how- 
ever, for  earthquakes  oc- 
curred and  great  cracks 
opened  in  its  bed.  From 
these  cracks  flowed  streams 
of  melted  lava,  which  slowly 
cooled,  and  as  the  years 


REFERENCE  TOPICS. 

Locate    Cascade    Moun- 
tains. 
Volcanoes. 
Mount  Mazama. 
Crater. 

History  of  Crater  Lake. 
Features  of  the  lake. 


149 


CRATER   LAKE.  151 

went  on  were  heaped  one  upon  the  other,  until  the 
Cascade  Mountains  were  formed. 

On  the  summit  of  these  mountains,  and  rising 
many  thousand  feet  higher,  were  the  great  volcanoes 
which  we  call  Shasta,  Mazama,  Rainier,  and  Hood, 
besides  many  smaller  ones. 

All  but  Mt.  Mazama  you  will  find  marked  upon 
the  maps.  This  was  a  great  mountain,  almost  as 
high  as  Shasta;  and  you  ask  why  it  is  not  down 
also.  Simply  because  no  such  mountain  exists 
there  to-day.  In  its  place  is  Crater  Lake.  Listen, 
and  I  will  tell  you  the  strange  story  of  Mt. 
Mazama. 

For  centuries  Mt.  Mazama  poured  out  smoke, 
ashes,  and  streams  of  lava.  At  last,  the  fire  nearly 
died  out  in  the  mountain,  and  only  now  and  then  a 
little  steam  issued  from  its  top.  The  rough  and 
jagged  lava  rocks  upon  its  slopes  grew  cold. 

The  climate  became  cold,  and  the  Cascade  Moun- 
tains were  covered  with  snow  and  ice  all  the  year 
round.  What  is  now  the  Willamette  Valley  was 
then  a  lake.  Long  streams  of  ice,  formed  from  the 
hardened  and  partly  melted  snow,  moved  slowly 
down  the  mountains  to  the  lake,  and  breaking  off, 
floated  out  upon  its  surface. 

The  region  all  about  Mt.  Mazama  was  a  desolate 
one.  All  the  vegetation,  even  the  tallest  trees,  were 
buried  under  the  snow.  No  living  thing  was  to 


152  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

be  seen,  except  when  some  Arctic  animal  wandered 
over  it. 

After  a  time  the  climate  grew  warmer,  and  the 
snow  melted  away.  Grass  and  bushes,  and  finally 
trees,  covered  the  mountains  again. 

A  family  of  bears,  searching  for  a  home,  came  to 
a  deep  cave  under  the  lava  on  the  slope  of  Mt. 
Mazama,  and  stopped  there.  The  home  was  well 
chosen,  for  during  the  cold  winters  the  bears  re- 
treated far  into  the  cave,  where  the  snow  could  not 
reach  them. 

During  the  summers  they  had  the  huckleberries, 
which  grew  in  the  meadows,  a  little  farther  down 
the  mountain,  all  to  themselves,  for  the  most  of  the 
other  animals,  as  well  as  the  birds,  seemed  afraid  of 
the  mountain. 

The  years  passed  happily,  until  the  bears  began 
to  be  suspicious  that  something  was  going  on  within 
the  mountain.  Strange  rumblings  were  heard,  and 
the  rocks  often  trembled.  Once  the  mouth  of  the 
cave  was  nearly  closed  by  a  rock  which  had  rolled 
down.  In  the  winters  the  heat  began  to  disturb 
their  long  sleep,  so  that  more  than  once  they 
thought  spring  had  come,  when  it  was  still  mid- 
winter. 

Finally,  one  night,  when  returning  from  an  ex- 
pedition, they  saw  the  sky  above  the  summit  of  the 
great  mountain  on  which  they  lived,  lighted  up 


CKATER   LAKE.  153 

brightly,  and  shortly  after,  fine,  suffocating  ashes 
began  to  fall. 

At  last,  when  an  unusually  heavy  earthquake 
shook  the  cave,  our  family  of  bears  could  stand  it 
no  longer,  and  started  pell-mell  down  the  mountain 
side  to  find  a  safer  place. 

In  the  days  that  followed  the  heat  increased. 
There  were  loud,  thundering  noises,  and  earth- 
quakes so  severe  that  they  broke  the  trees  down. 
Even  the  most  sluggish  of  the  animals  left  their 
homes  and  fled  away  from  the  mountain. 

After  a  time  these  disturbances  ceased,  and  Bruin 
and  his  family  wandered  back  up  the  mountain. 
But,  somehow,  things  looked  different.  The  trees 
and  bushes  were  all  dead,  and  the  green  meadows 
where  the  huckleberries  used  to  grow  were  buried 
under  a  layer  of  soft  ashes. 

All  at  once  they  came  out  upon  the  edge  of  a 
great  precipice.  They  could  go  no  farther,  for  in 
front  of  them,  where  the  mountain  had  risen  so 
many  thousands  of  feet,  there  was  a  hole  nearly  a 
mile  deep  and  several  miles  across. 

In  the  bottom  there  was  a  red-hot  mass  of  lava, 
which  bubbled  up,  and  threw  out  great  jets  of  steam. 

What  it  all  meant  the  bears  did  not  know,  but  it 
seemed  as  if  the  mountain  had  been  melted  and 
fallen  in.  One  look  was  sufficient,  and  then  they 
turned  and  fled  from  the  spot. 


154  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

Year  after  year  passed,  but  the  bears  did  not 
return.  The  lake  of  lava  at  last  became  cold.  The 
rains  fell  and  gathered  in  this  old  crater  of  the 
sunken  Mt.  Mazama. 

Explorers  discovered  this  beautiful  lake  hidden 
away  in  the  forests  which  now  cover  the  summit 
of  the  Cascade  Range.  The  surface  of  the  lake 
lies  two  thousand  feet  below  the  top  of  the  circling 
cliffs  which  formed  the  old  crater. 

The  water  is  nearly  half  a  mile  deep,  and  clear 
and  blue  it  lies  there  in  the  quiet  of  the  mountain 
woods.  On  an  island  in  the  lake  there  is  a  small 
volcano,  but  it  is  also  covered  with  trees.  Probably 
it  has  been  centuries  since  it  threw  out  ashes  and 
lava. 

The  eagles  build  their  nests  in  the  cliffs,  and  the 
deer  come  down  to  drink.  Will  it  always  be  so? 
We  cannot  tell.  Some  time  the  fire  may  be 
lighted  again,  and  smoke  and  ashes  fill  the  sky,  but 
we  hope  not. 

This  is  the  story  of  Mt.  Mazama,  the  mountain 
which  fell  in.  Do  you  wonder  that  it  is  not  located 
in  the  geography  ? 


CRATER   LAKE.  155 

BLACKBOARD  WORDS. 

Ranier  (ra'ner),  Willamette  (wll-a'm6t),  suffocating  (siif 
fo-ka'ting),  disturbance  (dte-turb'ans),  century  (s£n'tu-ry), 
sufficient  (suf-fish'ent). 


Jet  =  a  sudden  rush  of  water  from  a  pipe. 
Crater  =  the  mouth  of  a  volcano. 
Huckleberries  =  the  fruit  of  a  low  shrub. 


THE  LAVA  PLATEAU  OF  THE  NORTHWEST. 


F  you  want  to  get  the  juice  out  of  an  orange 
without  peeling  it,  how  is  it  done  ?     Why, 
it  is  a  very  simple   matter.      Cut  a  little 
hole  in  the  orange,  and  then  squeeze  it  in 
your  hands. 

The  great  round  earth  on  which  we 
live  is  like  an  orange  in  some  ways.    It 
has  a  hard  skin,  or  crust,  on  the  out- 
side, while  it  is  soft  on  the  inside. 

Now,  if  there  were  a  hole,  or  crack,  in  the  crust 
of  the  earth,  and  some  mighty  giant  should  squeeze 
it,  what  do  you  suppose  would  happen?  The  soft 
material  inside  would  come  up  through  the  cracks 
and  run  out  over  the  surface  exactly  as  the  juice 
of  an  orange  does. 

Many  different  times  in 
the  history  of  the  earth  the 
melted  rock  inside  of  it  has 
flowed  out  and  over  the 
green  surface,  making  it 
rocky  and  barren.  We  must 
not  think,  however,  that 

156 


REFERENCE  TOPICS. 

The  crust  of  the  earth. 
The    Interior    of  the 

earth. 
Locate    the    Columbia 

Plateau. 

Origin  of  this  plateau. 
Columbia  River  canyon. 


THE  LAVA  PLATEAU  OF  THE  NORTHWEST.        157 

a  giant  really  squeezed  the  earth,  for  there  are 
no  such  things  as  giants.  Instead  of  that,  the  lava 
was  pressed  out  by  the  weight  of  the  crust  upon 
which  we  walk. 

Our  earth  was  once  a  fiery,  glowing  mass,  like 
most  of  the  stars,  but  now  the  outside  has  become 
solid  and  cold.  At  least,  it  seems  solid,  except  when 
we  feel  it  rocking  during  an  earthquake. 

Far  below  the  surface  it  is  still  soft  and  hot.  The 
crust  is  very  heavy,  and  once  in  a  while  it  settles 
down  a  little,  and  squeezes  out  some  of  this  soft  ma- 
terial, which  we  call  lava. 

You  may  wonder  how  we  know  that  it  is  hot 
inside.  In  many  parts  of  the  earth  lava  can  now 
be  seen  in  the  craters  of  volcanoes,  steaming  like 
some  hot  pudding.  Many  of  the  hot  springs  which 
are  so  abundant  upon  the  Pacific  Coast  are  caused 
by  the  heated  rocks  far  below  the  surface.  In  some 
places  mines  have  been  worked  that  are  nearly  a 
mile  deep.  It  has  been  found  that  the  deeper  the 
miners  go  the  hotter  it  becomes.  So  we  are  quite 
sure  that  it  is  hot  enough  to  melt  the  hardest  sub- 
stance not  very  many  miles  below  the  surface. 

In  portions  of  Oregon,  Washington,  and  Idaho 
so  much  lava  has  been  squeezed  out  that  it  has 
formed  a  high  table  land,  or  plateau,  hundreds  of 
miles  in  extent.  It  is  called  the  Columbia  Plateau, 
because  the  Columbia  River  flows  across  it. 


158  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

The  plateau  was  originally  almost  as  level  as  a 
floor,  but  since  the  lava  cooled,  cracks  have  formed 
in  it,  and  some  portions  have  been  raised  to  form 
high  mountains. 

How  do  you  suppose  this  country  looked  before 
the  lava  flood  buried  it  ?  It  probably  looked  very 
much  as  mountains  generally  do.  There  must  have 
been  hills  and  valleys  and  running  streams. 

There  came  a  time  of  terrific  earthquakes.  Great 
cracks  formed  in  the  rocks,  and  floods  of  fiery  lava 
flowed  up  through  them.  The  lava  was  very  thin, 
and  ran  over  the  country,  almost  as  easily  as  water 
would  have  done.  It  filled  the  valleys  first,  leaving 
the  hills  sticking  up ;  but  the  heat  must  have  been 
so  great  as  to  kill  every  living  thing  over  many 
hundred  square  miles. 

Then  for  many  years  no  more  lava  came  out.  If 
we  had  lived  there  we  should  have  felt  safe  again. 
The  steaming  lava  became  entirely  cold.  The 
winters  and  summers  succeeded  each  other,  until 
the  hard  rock  crumbled  a  little  on  the  surface,  and 
trees  grew  up.  Among  them  were  pines  and 
spruces,  just  like  those  we  find  on  the  mountains 
now.  There  must  have  been  animals  and  birds  also. 

Then  again,  without  warning,  the  crust  was 
broken,  and  more  lava  came  boiling  out.  It  killed 
and  buried  the  forests,  and  spread  farther  than  it 
had  before.  After  a  time  it  was  quiet  again. 


THE  LAVA  PLATEAU  OF  THE  NORTHWEST.        159 

How  many  times  this  was  repeated  we  hardly 
know,  but  at  last  the  whole  country,  for  hundreds 
of  miles  around,  was  completely  buried. 

These  would  have  been  terrifying  sights  if  we 
could  have  seen  them  all.  Steam,  hot  air,  volcanic 
dust,  and  fiery  lava  were  everywhere.  It  would 
have  seemed  as  if  the  earth  were  turning  inside  out, 
and  that  everything  upon  it  was  to  be  killed. 

Thus  the  Columbia  plateau  was  made.  After  the 
lava  had  become  cold,  the  rain  water  formed  lakes 
at  different  spots  upon  its  surface.  Many  interesting 
animals  lived  around  these  lakes.  Their  bones, 
which  are  still  found,  show  that  they  were  quite 
different  from  the  animals  living  there  now. 

Far  to  the  east  of  the  lava  plateau,  were  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  lava  'had  not  covered 
them.  The  streams  from  these  mountains  flowed 
westward,  and  united  in  one  large  river,  which  we 
call  the  Columbia. 

Ever  since  the  Columbia  began,  it  has  been  cut- 
ting its  channel  into  the  lava  of  the  plateau.  It  has 
now  the  deepest  and  most  rugged  canon  of  all  the 
rivers  of  the  Northwest. 

The  river  has  cut  through  the  different  layers  of 
lava  which  flowed  at  different  times.  What  we  can 
see  now  in  the  canons  enables  us  to  tell  what  hap- 
pened so  long  ago. 

We  might  compare  this  plateau  to  a  layer-cake. 


160  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

Each  stream  of  lava  would  then  represent  one 
layer  in  the  cake,  and  the  soil  between  the  layers 
the  jelly.  How  boldly  and  clearly  the  layers  of 
black  lava  stand  out  on  the  walls  of  the  canons. 
The  thin  layers  of  soil  between  them  contain  frag- 
ments of  petrified  trees  and  impressions  of  leaves. 
They  tell  the  story  of  how  the  country  was  once 
buried  bv  the  lava. 


BLACKBOARD   WORDS. 

Columbia  (ko-lum'  bi-a),  fiery  (fi'er-y,  or  ffry),  glowing 
(glo'ing),  petrified  (pel'rl-fld). 


Glowing  =  white  with  heat. 

Volcanic    dust  =  fine    particles  of    lava    thrown    out   of  a 

volcano. 
Petrified  trees  =  trees  that  have  been  turned  to  stone. 


DOWN  IN  A  GOLD  MINE. 


'F  it  were  not  for  the  gold  hid- 
den away  in  the  mountains  of 
the  Pacific  Coast,  this  region 
would  not  contain  as  many 
people  as  it  does.  In  the 
early  days,  when  gold  was  first 
discovered  in  California,  there 
were  no  railroads. 
When  it  was  known  that  gold  was  to  be  had 
here  for  the  digging,  thousands  of  people  started 
from  the  East  for  California.  They  had  to  en- 
counter all  kinds  of  dangers.  They  crossed  the 
broad  deserts,  climbed  mountains,  in  whose  canons 
Indians  waited,  or  sailed  half  around  the  world. 

After     the     pioneers  

reached  California,  they 
had  yet  to  find  just  where 
the  gold  was.  They  ex- 
plored the  brooks  and 
rivers  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains,  and  discovered 
that  in  many  places  the 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Placer  mining. 

Quartz. 

Quartz  veins. 

Gold. 

Mother-lode. 

How  gold  is  mined. 


161 


MAY  LUNDY"  GOLD  MINE  — NEAE  THE  SUMMIT  OF  THE  SIERRA  NEVADA  MOUNTAINS. 


DOWN    IN    A   GOLD   MINE.  163 

gravels  in  their  beds  were  full  of  grains  of  gold. 
This  is  placer  gold,  and  digging  for  it  is  called 
placer  mining. 

The  miners  found  little  pieces  of  quartz  with  the 
gold,  and  soon  discovered  that  both  came  from  quartz 
veins,  which  appeared  wherever  the  rain,  or  the 
streams,  had  washed  the  soil  away  from  the  rocks. 

The  little  white  pebbles,  which  we  find  in  all  the 
brooks,  are  quartz.  They  are  so  hard  that  your 
knife  blade  cannot  scratch  them,  and  often  as  clear 
and  transparent  as  glass. 

A  quartz  vein  is  a  long,  narrow  band  of  quartz 
extending  across  the  country.  Quartz  is  so  much 
harder  than  the  other  rocks  that  it  often  stands  up 
in  prominent  points  above  the  rest  of  the  country. 

All  the  children  who  live  in  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains  have  heard  of  the  Mother-lode.  Those 
who  live  in  other  places  would  perhaps  like  to  know 
something  about  it.  The  Mother-lode  is  formed  by 
a  line  of  quartz  veins,  which  reach  for  more  than 
a  hundred  miles  through  the  foothills.  These  veins 
are  very  large  and  rich,  and  the  miners  called  them 
the  Mother-lode,  because  they  thought  the  gold  in 
the  gravels  of  the  streams  all  came  from  them. 

Hundreds  of  mines  have  been  worked  here,  and 
every  one  who  is  looking  for  a  mine,  wants  it  to  be 
upon  the  Mother-lode,  because  he  thinks  it  is  so 
rich. 


164  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

We  must  not  think  that  all  the  quartz  pebbles 
which  we  find  in  the  brooks  contain  gold,  for  we 
would  be  greatly  disappointed.  The  miner  some- 
times spends  years  hunting  for  a  vein  of  quartz 
with  enough  gold  in  it  to  pay  him  for  working  it. 
He  prospects  the  vein  by  pounding  a  piece  of  the 
quartz  to  dust  in  a  mortar,  and  then  washing  away 
the  dust  in  a  pan,  or  spoon  made  of  horn.  If  there 
is  any  gold,  it  settles  to  the  bottom,  and  appears  as 
a  string  of  little  shining  yellow  grains. 

An  old  prospector  had  lived  for  years  in  a  log 
cabin  in  a  gulch  in  the  mountains.  He  had  a 
mining  claim  upon  the  Mother-lode,  but  for  a  long 
time  had  not  been  able  to  find  just  where  Nature 
had  put  the  gold,  for  she  does  not  sprinkle  it  in  all 
the  quartz. 

The  day  came  at  last  when  he  found  some  quartz 
with  specks  and  threads  of  gold.  The  disap- 
pointed look  in  his  face  was  changed  to  a  happy 
one.  He  built  a  new  cabin,  and  threw  away  his 
old  clothes. 

He  had  worked  years,  digging  holes  along  the 
vein  of  quartz,  in  the  hunt  for  gold.  These  holes 
looked  like  so  many  wells,  only  there  was  no  water 
in  them.  He  had  raised  the  quartz  from  the  bottom 
of  the  holes  by  hand.  The  windlass  which  he  used, 
with  its  rope  and  bucket,  looked  just  like  that  em- 
ployed by  well-diggers. 


DOWN   IN   A   GOLD   MINE.  165 

Now,  in  place  of  this  windlass,  there  stands  a  large 
mill,  from  which  comes,  through  all  the  day  and 
night,  the  steady  thump,  thump,  of  the  heavy  iron 
stamps,  as  they  pound  the  quartz  to  pieces,  and 
set  free  the  shining  grains  of  gold. 

We  will  go  down  in  the  mine,  and  see  what  he 
has  found.  At  one  end  of  the  room  is  a  dark 
hole,  surrounded  by  a  railing.  It  is  called  a 
shaft,  and  through  it  the  quartz  is  raised  to  the 
surface. 

A  steel  rope  is  running  up  from  the  shaft,  and 
over  a  wheel  on  some  timbers  above  us.  A  little 
behind  stands  the  engineer,  ready  to  stop  the  ma- 
chinery at  a  second's  notice. 

As  we  watch,  a  great  square  bucket,  or  skip,  as 
the  miners  call  it,  comes  in  sight,  rising  out  of  the 
dark  shaft.  It  passes  to  the  floor  above,  where  the 
ore  is  dumped,  and  is  then  lowered  for  us.  We 
climb  in,  but  not  without  some  fear.  At  a  signal, 
the  engineer  moves  a  lever,  and  we  seem  to  fairly 
drop  into  the  dark  hole. 

Down,  down,  we  go  for  some  moments.  The  air 
becomes  cold,  and  by  the  light  of  the  feeble  candles 
we  catch  glimpses  of  mossy  timbers,  and  bare,  wet 
rock,  as  we  fly  past.  Several  lighted  stations,  where 
men  are  at  work,  come  into  view,  and  quickly  dis- 
appear. 

Little  streams  of  water  run  down  the  sides  of  the 


166  WESTERN    SERIES    OF   READERS. 

shaft,  and  drip  upon  us,  but  with  rubber  coats  on, 
we  do  not  mind  it. 

The  bucket  slackens  its  speed,  and  comes  to  a 
stop  close  to  a  platform,  and  we  climb  out.  We  are 
two  thousand  feet  down  in  the  earth,  and  although 
it  is  cold,  the  air  is  not  bad,  for  there  are  pipes  lead- 
ing to  the  surface,  through  which  fresh  air  is  con- 
stantly pumped. 

The  men  began  digging  upon  the  vein  of  quartz 
at  the  surface,  and  followed  it  all  the  way  down  this 
shaft.  They  think  it  extends  much  deeper  still. 

To  the  right  and  left  of  the  landing  upon  which 
we  stand,  tunnels,  or  drifts,  as  they  are  also  called, 
extend  away  into  the  darkness. 

We  start  out  to  walk  to  the  end  of  one  of  them, 
where  the  miners  are  at  work  breaking  down  the 
quartz.  The  timbers  which  hold  up  the  roof  of  the 
tunnel  hide  the  most  of  the  vein,  but  in  a  few 
places  we  can  see  it  glistening  brightly. 

We  meet  a  group  of  men  at  the  end  of  the  tunnel, 
and  stop  to  see  what  they  are  doing.  Here  stands 
an  iron  car,  holding  about  a  wagon  load  of  the  ore. 
It  is  pushed  back  and  forth  between  the  place  where 
the  men  are  at  work  and  the  shaft. 

Two  men  are  loading  it  with  chunks  of  quartz, 
which  have  just  been  blasted  down  from  the  vein, 
which  we  see  sparkling  overhead.  Another  man 
holds  a  short  steel  bar,  called  a  drill,  while  his  com- 


DOWN   IN   A   GOLD   MINE.  167 

panion  strikes  steady  blows  upon  it.  In  this  way  a 
round  hole  is  slowly  cut  in  the  solid  rock.  This  is 
called  drilling. 

Holding  a  candle  close  to  the  vein,  we  can  see 
little  specks  of  gold  scattered  through  the  quartz. 
The  foreman  calls  this  rich  ore,  and  we  are  ready 
to  agree  with  him.  A  wagon  load  of  it  would  make 
us  almost  rich. 

It  is  nearly  noon,  and  the  men  are  going  to  blast 
down  some  more  of  the  quartz,  before  going  up  to 
their  dinner.  Sticks  of  dynamite,  which  look  like 
candles,  only  they  are  yellow,  are  placed  in  the 
holes  which  have  been  drilled.  A  dark,  thick 
string,  called  a  fuse,  is  put  in  the  end  of  each,  and 
left  sticking  out  of  the  hole. 

When  all  is  ready,  the  fuse  is  lighted,  and  we 
hasten  back  through  the  tunnel,  and  enter  a  side- 
tunnel,  or  cross-cut.  Here  we  are  safe,  and  wait  for 
the  blasts  to  go  off. 

Suddenly,  we  hear  a  sharp  click,  seeming  to  come 
out  of  the  wall  of  the  tunnel.  Then  there  follows 
an  explosion,  which  shakes  the  solid  rock. 

It  is  very  dangerous  to  work  in  some  mines.  If 
the  rock  is  soft,  it  keeps  settling  slowly  into  the 
tunnels,  breaking  timbers  more  than  a  foot  through. 
In  some  mines,  there  is  so  much  water  that  the 
pumps  have  to  be  kept  going  all  the  time,  or  the 
rnen  would  be  drowned. 


168  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

The  men  who  work  in  mines  get  so  used  to  living 
underground  that  they  do  not  think  anymore  about 
it  than  we  do  of  going  into  a  dark  cellar. 

We  hasten  back  through  the  smoke,  which  has 
come  from  the  blasts,  and  reach  the  shaft.  Our 
guide  pulls  a  cord,  which  gives  the  engineer  the 
signal,  and  we  are  drawn  up  again  in  the  bucket. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Quartz  (kwarts),  transparent  (trans-par'ent),  explosion 
(gks-plo'zhun),  dynamite  (di'na-mit),  engineer  (6n'ji-ner'), 
machinery  (rna-shen'er-y),  lode  (lod). 


Quartz  =  a  hard,  glassy  mineral. 

Prospect  =  to  look  over  or  explore  for  something. 

Liode-=a  metallic  vein,  or  series  of  veins. 

Mortar  =  a  strong  vessel  in  which  substances  are  pounded. 

Stamp  =  a   kind   of  heavy    hammer   for    crushing    ores   to 

powder. 

Windlass  =  a  machine  for  raising  weights. 
Ore  =  the  natural  condition  of  a  metal. 
Shaft  =  a  well-like  excavation  in  the  earth. 
Drift  =  a  passage  cut  through  the  rocks,  a  tunnel. 
Dynamite  =  an  explosive  substance. 


WHERE  THE   QUICKSILVER  IS  MADE. 


'HO  has  not  seen  the  silvery  sub- 
stance in  the  tube  of  a  thermom- 
eter, and  noticed  how  it  rises 
when  it  grows  warm  and  falls 
when  the  cold  comes  again;  or, 
if  the  bulb  be  broken,  followed 
with  wondering  eyes  the  glitter- 
ing drops  as  they  rolled  over  the  floor  ? 

This  substance,  so  heavy  and  bright,  which  be- 
haves so  strangely,  is  quicksilver,  or  mercury. 
When  people  first  discovered  it  they  called  it 
liquid  silver,  because  it  looked  so  much  like  silver. 
It  is  the  only  metal  which  looks  like  a  liquid  at  the 
ordinary  temperature,  but 
there  are  many  others 
which  become  liquid  if 
they  are  put  in  a  furnace 
where  it  is  very  hot. 

Quicksilver  is  useful  for 
many  purposes.  It  is 
mixed  with  tin  to  form 
the  coating  for  the  backs  of 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Different  forms  of  quick- 
silver. 

Where  found. 

Volcanoes. 

Hot  springs. 

A  quicksilver  mine. 

Extraction  of  quick- 
silver from  the  ore. 


WHERE   THE    QUICKSILVER    IS    MADE.  171 

our  mirrors.  The  miner  uses  it  to  collect  the  little 
particles  of  gold  as  the  water  carries  them  away. 
Calomel  is  one  form  of  quicksilver.  We  may 
have  some  time  taken  this  white  powder  as  a 
medicine,  and  can  remember  how  badly  it  made 
us  feel. 

Did  you  ever  think  that  we  do  not  get  many 
things  without  working  for  them  ?  The  hunter  has 
to  tramp  often  many  long  miles  before  he  finds  any 
game.  Our  lessons,  too,  cannot  be  learned  without 
hard  work. 

Nature  treats  us  in  the  same  way.  She  has  hid- 
den away  her  most  precious  things  in  the  rocks, 
and  we  have  to  hunt  long  and  earnestly  for  them. 
She  does  not  give  us  quicksilver  in  the  pure  condi- 
tion in  which  we  see  it  in  the  thermometer,  but 
combined  with  sulphur  in  the  bright  red  mineral 
known  as  cinnabar. 

The  prospector  spends  his  life  hunting  for  min- 
erals. He  goes  through  all  the  mountains,  and 
looks  carefully  at  the  many  kinds  of  rock,  and  per- 
haps at  last  discovers  some  that  contain  little  specks 
of  this  mineral  about  which  we  are  talking,  the 
bright  red  cinnabar. 

Opposite  the  Sacramento  Valley,  near  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Coast  Ranges,  there  were  once,  many, 
many  years  ago,  some  great  volcanoes.  We  all 
know  that  volcanoes  are  mountains  out  of  which 


172  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

come  smoke  and  ashes,  and  sometimes  fiery  masses 
of  melted  rock. 

The  volcanoes  at  last  became  cold,  but  the 
springs  about  them  remained  hot  for  a  long  time. 
Some  are  warm  even  at  the  present  time,  and  are 
used  for  bathing  and  drinking,  as  they  contain  sub- 
stances which  are  valuable  as  medicine. 

Where  many  of  these  springs  run  out  over  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  prospectors  have  found  de- 
posits of  cinnabar.  The  cinnabar  was  brought  up 
by  the  water  from  deep  down  in  the  earth,  where  it 
is  so  hot  that  the  rocks  are  almost  melted. 

In  this  region  there  is  a  little  stream  called  Sul- 
phur Creek,  and  along  it,  there  are  many  hot 
springs  and  veins  of  cinnabar.  One  large  spring, 
in  particular,  comes  out  of  the  ground  on  a  hill- 
side facing  the  creek,  and  here  some  miners  have 
dug  a  tunnel  hundreds  of  feet  long.  We  will  take 
advantage  of  their  work  to  go  under  the  ground,  and 
possibly  we  shall  find  something  very  interesting. 

In  the  story  books  one  goes  on  imaginary  excur- 
sions to  the  center  of  the  earth,  crawls  through 
caverns,  and  is  let  down  over  precipices  to  the  edge 
of  boiling  lakes,  but  here  we  are  going  to  take  a 
real  trip  away  under  the  ground,  far  from  the 
bright  sunlight,  and  see  with  our  own  eyes  what 
Dame  Nature,  who  seems  never  to  get  tired,  is  doing 
there  in  her  hidden  workshop. 


WHERE    THE    QUICKSILVER    IS    MADE.  173 

Hot,  steaming  water  runs  out  of  the  tunnel, 
bringing  with  it  a  current  of  warm,  choking  air, 
which  smells  much  as  a  lighted  sulphur  match. 
However,  we  need  not  be  afraid,  for  the  miners  work 
here  all  day,  although  they  have  to  come  out  of  the 
tunnel  once  in  a  while  for  fresh  air. 

Before  entering,  we  have  to  take  off  our  outer 
clothes,  for  our  guide,  who  is  dressed  very  lightly, 
tells  us,  as  the  sweat  pours  down  his  face,  that  it  is 
rather  warm  inside. 

Holding  a  lighted  candle  in  one  hand,  and  in 
the  other  a  little  hammer  to  knock  off  specimens, 
we  start  in  single  file  into  the  dark  hole.  On  first 
getting  inside  we  commence  to  cough,  and  are 
almost  choked  with  the  hot,  stifling  air,  but  after  a 
time  we  get  used  to  it,  and  manage  to  keep  up  with 
our  guide. 

We  tramp  on  with  our  dim  candles  for  some 
moments,  passing  now  and  then  a  narrow  cavern, 
from  which  comes  the  sound  of  gurgling  waters. 
At  last  we  reach  the  point  where  the  miners  are  at 
work,  and  we  stop  and  look  around.  What  wonders 
meet  our  eyes!  Deep,  narrow  crevices  lead  away, 
until  lost  in  the  darkness,  in  which  we  imagine 
strange  shapes,  as  out  of  them  come  the  steam  and 
choking  vapors  from  the  unknown  regions  be- 
low us. 

We    hear    running   waters    in   every   direction. 


174  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

They  pour  from  some  of  the  openings,  almost  boil- 
ing hot,  and  drip  upon  us  from  overhead.  The 
walls  everywhere  sparkle  in  the  light. 

The  hot  waters  are  bringing  up  many  other 
things  besides  the  cinnabar,  and  are  gradually  fill- 
ing up  the  open  caverns  with  the  most  beautiful 
specimens.  In  addition  to  the  bright  red  cinnabar, 
there  is  the  yellow  sulphur,  and  if  we  look  closely, 
a  little  gold  will  be  found  in  some  places. 

Most  beautiful  are  the  little  crystals  of  sulphur 
which  form  from  the  choking  vapors  which  we  are 
breathing.  They  coat  the  walls,  and  sparkle  like 
thousands  of  gems  whichever  way  we  turn. 

The  sweat  covering  our  bodies,  the  stifling  and 
poisonous  air,  the  boiling  water  at  our  feet,  and  the 
sparkling  walls,  shutting  us  in  on  all  sides,  make  it 
easy  to  imagine  ourselves  miles  below  the  surface  of 
the  earth. 

We  can  remain  no  longer,  and  hurry  back  to  the 
fresh  air  of  the  outside  world.  We  have  had  a 
strange  trip  into  the  earth.  We  have  seen  one  of 
the  most  wonderful  quicksilver  mines  in  all  the 
West.  In  most  mines  the  water  is  cold,  and  Dame 
Nature  is  taking  a  rest  after  her  work.  She  is 
waiting  for  new  earthquakes,  new  volcanoes,  and 
new  hot  springs. 

Let  us  follow  the  ore  from  the  mine  and  see  what 
becomes  of  it.  A  little  car  running  upon  a  wooden 


WHERE   THE   QUICKSILVER   IS   MADE.  175 

track  brings  it  to  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  There 
it  is  put  upon  wagons  and  hauled  to  the  mill,  in 
the  valley,  where  it  is  placed  in  a  furnace,  over  a 
hot  fire. 

There  it  is  roasted  for  a  long  time.  The  quick- 
silver is  driven  off  in  the  form  of  invisible  vapor, 
and  passed  into  cool  chambers,  where  it  is  condensed 
in  the  same  way  as  the  moisture  from  the  air  con- 
denses upon  a  glass  of  cool  water. 

Working  with  quicksilver  is  very  dangerous,  for 
if  one  breathes  much  of  the  gas  from  the  furnace,  or 
the  dust  from  the  ore,  it  will  slowly  poison  him. 
The  Chinamen  who  are  employed  in  most  of  the 
mines  and  about  the  furnaces  go  with  moist  cloths 
tied  over  their  noses  and  mouths. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Thermometer  (ther-mom'e-ter),  calomel  (kal'o-mel),  mer- 
cury (mer'ku-ry),  cinnabar  (sin'na-bar),  sulphur  (sul'fur), 
glittering  (glit'ter-ing),  precipice  (pr6s'i-pis),  crevice  (kr6v' 
is),  ore  (or),  vein  (van),  invisible  (m-vizl'-b'l). 


Mercury  =  a  liquid  metallic  element. 

Silver  =  a  soft,  white  metal. 

Thermometer  =  an  instrument  for  measuring  temperature. 

Sulphur  =  an  inflammable  yellow  mineral. 


176 


WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 


Mineral  =  an  inorganic  substance,  having  a  definite  compo- 
sition. 

Vein  =  a  narrow  mass  o.        k  intersecting  other  rock. 
Tunnel  =  a  passage  cut  through  rocks  at  right  angles  to  a  vein. 
Specimen  =  a  sample;  a  small  part  of  anything. 
Crevice  =  a  narrow  opening  resulting  from  a  crack. 
Vapor  =  any  substance  in  a  gaseous  condition. 
Ore  =  the  native  form  of  a  mineral. 

Condensed  =  made  smaller,  changed  from  a  gas  to  a  liquid. 
Furnace  =  a  place  for  melting  metals. 


THE  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A  NUGGET. 

OU  must  not  expect  me  to  tell  just 
how  I  was  made,  or  all  the  things 
that  have  happened  to  me.  You 
would  not  understand  it  all. 

Besides,  I  am  a  little  puzzled  my- 
self to  know  who  left  me  in  the 
vein  of  quartz.    However  this  may 
be,   I   lay  for  a   long  time  deep 
down  in  the  earth,  with  solid  rock  all  about  me. 

It  seemed  for  a  time  that  I  was  to  stay  there  for- 
ever, but  as  the  years  went  past  it  began  to  be  less 
dark,  and  I  could  see  a  little  daylight  coming  down 
through  the  cracks  in  the  rocks  above. 

The  frost  and  the  rain- 
drops were  at  work  with 
their  picks  and  shovels, 
breaking  the  rocks  apart 
and  rolling  the  little  grains 
down  the  mountain  slopes 
to  the  brooks. 

The  brooks  were  tired 
of  flowing  so  fast  and 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Nuggets. 

Veins. 

How    the    rocks    are 

broken  down. 
Story   of  Sierra  Nevada 

Mountains. 

Ancient  river  channels. 
Hydraulic  mining. 


177 


THE  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A  NUGGET.     179 

tumbling  over  the  rough  bowlders,  and  they  were 
glad  to  help  all  they  could  in  breaking  the  moun- 
tains in  pieces.  They  picked  up  the  grains  of  sand, 
and  carried  them  along,  but  the  pebbles  and 
bowlders  they  could  only  roll  over  and  over  along 
the  bottom, 

They  finally  ground  to  pieces  all  the  pebbles  but 
those  made  of  quartz.  This  interested  me,  because 
it  was  the  quartz  which  held  me  so  tightly. 

At  last  the  rock  and  quartz  were  broken  away, 
and  I  rolled  out  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
How  different  everything  seemed.  Now  I  could 
enjoy  life.  I  was  upon  a  hill  upon  the  western 
slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  but  they  were 
not  as  rugged  and  wild  as  they  are  now. 

I  had  heard  it  whispered  that  there  was  a  giant 
inside  the  earth,  who  slept  the  most  of  the  time,  but 
when  he  turned  over  he  raised  the  mountains,  and 
made  them  tremble.  However  that  may  be,  it  had 
been  a  long  time  since  the  mountains  had  been  dis- 
turbed, and  the  frost  and  the  raindrops  and  their 
assistants  had  almost,  torn  them  down. 

They  were  still  at  work,  and  did  not  want  me  to 
lie  there  in  their  way.  They  were  jealous  of  my 
pretty  yellow  color.  They  need  not  have  bothered, 
however,  for  there  were  then  no  men  there  looking 
for  nuggets  like  me. 

As  I  lay  upon  the  mountain  side  I  saw  some 


180  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

strange  animals  feeding  upon  the  bushes  by  the 
river.  There  was  a  rhinoceros,  and  a  large  camel 
with  a  hump  on  its  back.  Farther  away  there  were 
other  large  animals,  which  looked  like  elephants. 
Long  after,  when  I  was  brought  down  to  San 
Francisco,  I  learned  that  they  were  mastodons. 

The  raindrops  wanted  to  roll  me  into  the  brook. 
They  washed  the  sand  from  under  me,  and  let  me 
go  rolling  down  the  bank.  Finally,  after  a  long 
time,  I  was  tumbled  into  the  river,  and  sank  in  a 
deep  hole. 

The  river  washed  sand  and  pebbles  over  me. 
Sticks  of  wood  and  some  large  bones  were  mixed 
up  with  the  sand.  The  bones  must  have  belonged 
to  one  of  the  animals  I  had  seen. 

The  river  flowed  over  me  for  a  long  time,  and 
buried  me  so  deeply  that  I  thought  I  would  never 
get  out  again.  I  was  not  alone,  however,  for  other 
nuggets  were  scattered  through  all  the  gravel  near 
me.  I  felt  proud,  for  I  was  the  largest  of  them  all. 

All  this  time  the  raindrops  were  bringing  the 
little  pieces  of  rock  to  the  streams,  and  the  streams 
were  carrying  them  away  to  the  sea.  The  moun- 
tains, after  a  long  time,  became  so  low  that  it  did 
not  rain  so  much  upon  them.  Then  the  rivers  be- 
came smaller.  Their  work  was  nearly  done. 

At  last  something  happened  within  the  earth, 
and  volcanoes  were  formed.  They  blew  out  steam 


THE  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A  NUGGET.     181 

and  ashes  and  chunks  of  lava.  There  were  light- 
nings and  heavy  showers.  The  falling  water 
washed  the  mud  and  pieces  of  lava  from  the  sides 
of  the  volcanoes  and  into  the  rivers.  The  rivers 
could  not  carry  it  all  down  to  the  Sacramento  VaU 
ley,  and  so  their  channels  were  piled  full. 

As  a  result  of  all  this,  I  was  buried  many  few 
deeper. 

After  that  the  earth  about  me  became  very  cold, 
and  I  concluded  that  the  river  above  me  was  frozen. 
The  cold  continued  for  a  long  time,  and  when  it 
went  away  it  rained  a  great  deal,  and  the  river  rose 
and  swept  along  noisily. 

The  lava  bowlders  and  gravel  which  had  been 
washed  over  me  had  by  this  time  become  cemented, 
so  that  the  water  could  not  carry  it  away.  Then  it 
went  to  work  and  washed  out  a  new  channel  where 
the  rock  was  softer.  At  this  behavior  of  the  river 
I  lost  all  hope  of  ever  getting  out  again. 

For  a  long  time  the  river  kept  digging  its  new 
channel  deeper.  It  at  last  made  a  canon  more  than 
one  thousand  feet  deep/and  I  was  left  on  what  was 
now  a  high  hill. 

When  the  world  had  become  ever  so  much  older, 
and  many  more  things  had  happened,  some  men 
came  walking  along  on  the  ridge  under  which  I 
lay  buried.  They  had  pans  and  a  pick,  and  would 
here  and  there  dig  up  some  of  the  gravel  and 


182  WESTERN  SERIES   OF   READERS. 

carry  it  to  a  little  creek.  There  they  carefully 
washed  it,  to  see  if  there  were  any  little  particles  of 
gold  in  it. 

If  that  was  what  they  were  looking  for,  I  could 
give  them  a  great  deal.  But  they  could  not  see 
me  hidden  so  far  below.  After  they  had  prospected 
at  different  places  on  the  hill,  they  found  enough 
gold  to  satisfy  them,  and  then  went  to  work  to  run 
a  stream  of  water  over  the  gravel.  They  wanted  to 
wash  it  away  so  as  to  get  at  the  gold. 

The  men  built  a  reservoir,  and  laid  a  pipe  from 
it  to  the  place  where  they  wanted  to  wash  the  gravel. 
Then  they  made  some  long  boxes,  called  sluices, 
with  little  cross  bars  in  the  bottom,  to  catch  the  gold 
when  the  water  carried  the  gravel  through  the 
boxes. 

When  all  was  ready,  they  turned  the  water  into 
the  pipe.  With  what  force  it  flew  from  the  nozzle. 
It  looked  like  a  stream  from  a  fire  engine,  only  it 
was  larger  and  much  more  powerful. 

The  men  turned  the  stream  against  the  bank  of 
gravel,  and  it  tore  it  down  very  fast.  The  gray 
bowlders  were  rolled  around  as  though  they  were 
little  pebbles.  As  fast  as  the  water  washed  the 
gravel  down,  it  was  carried  through  the  sluices 
where  the  gold  was  caught. 

When  they  reached  the  bottom  of  the  gravel 
they  found  what  the  miners  call  the  bed-rock. 


THE  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A  NUGGET     183 

This  is  the  rock  over  which  the  old  stream  flowed 
so  long  before.  In  the  crevices  of  the  bed-rock 
they  found  nuggets  as  large5  as  walnuts,  and  felt 
very  well  satisfied. 

What  a  surprise  was  in  store  for  the  miners  who 
had  worked  so  long.  One  day  the  stream  of  water 
washed  the  gravel  from  around  me,  and  with  a  rush 
of  the  muddy  water  I  rolled  out  of  the  gravel  bank. 
How  they  rejoiced  at  the  great  yellow  nugget. 

I  was  so  heavy  that  it  was  all  one  of  them  could 
do  to  carry  me.  After  being  admired  for  a  long 
time  I  was  put  in  a  safe  place.  Every  little 
while,  however,  they  could  not  resist  coming  to 
look  at  me. 

They  said  I  was  worth  many  thousands  of  dol- 
lars. I  was  taken  down  to  San  Francisco  and 
placed  in  a  window,  but  with  heavy  bars  around 
me,  to  keep  people  from  carrying  me  away. 

This  is  my  story.  I  had  an  interesting  life.  My 
end,  however,  was  a  sad  one.  I  was  sent  to  the  mint 
and  melted  down,  and  made  into  many  different 
pieces,  which  people  carried  around  in  their 
pockets 


BLACKBOARD     WORDS. 

Cemented  (se-m6nt'-ed),  jealous   (jgl'tis),  sluice    (slus), 
reservoir  (rSz'er-vwor'),  rhinoceros  (ri-nSs'e-r6s). 


184 


WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 


Rhinoceros  =  a  large  thick-skinned  animal. 

Mastodon  =  an  extinct  kind  of  elephant. 

Volcano  =  a  mountain  which  throws  out  lava,  ashes,  etc. 

Reservoir  =  a  place  where  water  is  stored. 

Cemented  =  united  firmly. 

Sluice  =  a  long  box,  through  which  water  runs. 

Nozzle  =  a  short,  tapering  joint  at  the  end  of  a  hose  or  pipe. 

Nugget  =  a  native  lump  of  a  precious  metal. 


COAL,  GRAPHITE,  DIAMOND. 


>AN  we  think  of  three  things  which 
are  apparently  so  very  unlike?  The 
first  is  a  piece  of  coal,  which  is  burn- 
ing brightly  in  the  grate.  The 
second  is  the  black  lead,  or  graphite, 
in  my  pencil.  The  third  is  a  clear, 

sparkling  diamond  in  my  ring. 

Although  they  seem  to  have  nothing  in  common, 

yet  they  are  all  formed  of  the  same  substance.  This 

substance  is  called   carbon,  and  it  came  from  the 

plants  which  lived  upon  the  earth  a  long  time  ago. 
Graphite  and  diamond  are  pure  carbon.     Coal  is 

not  pure,  for  it  gives  off  a 

suffocating  gas  when  it  is 

burning,  and  leaves  some 

ashes.      Does  it  not  seem 

strange  that  the  diamond, 

which  is  the  hardest  of  all 

minerals,  and  which  shines 

with  such  a  beautiful  lus- 
ter, is    made  of  the  same 

substance  as  the  dirty  black 


REFERENCE    TOPICS. 

Origin  of  carbon. 

Different  forms  of  car- 
bon. 

Formation  of  coal. 

Kinds  of  coal. 

Graphite. 

Origin  of  diamonds. 

Where  are  diamonds 
found  ? 


185 


186  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS 

soot  which  comes  from  the  coal,  and  lodges  in  the 
chimneys  ? 

The  graphite  is  black,  like  coal,  but  otherwise,  it 
is  quite  different.  It  does  not  burn,  if  placed  in 
the  fire,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  used  for  crucibles 
to  melt  other  minerals  in.  It  is  soft  and  greasy, 
and  besides  being  used  for  pencils,  is  valuable  for 
lubricating  machinery. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  know  how  each  of  these 
three  minerals  was  made.  We  will  study  the  coal 
first,  because  the  others  have  been  made  from  it. 

We  all  know  what  swamps  are.  Perhaps,  in  try- 
ing to  go  through  them,  we  have  gotten  into  the 
brush,  and  have  been  scratched  and  tumbled  into 
the  water.  In  such  places,  the  vegetation  grows 
very  thickly.  The  leaves,  twigs,  and  trunks  of  the 
trees,  when  they  fall,  are  partly  buried  in  the  mud 
and  water,  and  so,  when  they  decay,  cannot  dry  up 
and  blow  away  as  they  would  in  the  open  air.  Year 
after  year  the  dead  vegetation  accumulates,  until  a 
bed  a  number  of  feet  thick  is  formed. 

Now,  if  something  should  happen  to  the  brook 
which  flows  through  the  swamp,  and  the  water 
should  become  dammed  up,  the  swamp  would  be 
turned  into  a  lake,  and  the  bushes  and  trees  would 
be  killed. 

When  the  brook  was  high,  mud  and  sand  would 
be  washed  into  the  lake,  and  the  old  swamp  would 


COAL,   GRAPHITE,   DIAMOND.  187 

be  deeply  buried.  This  is  the  way  in  which  the 
beds  of  coal  originated.  In  some  coal  beds,  miners 
have  found  the  stumps  of  trees  still  standing  where 
they  grew,  and  impressions  in  the  mud  of  pretty 
leaves  and  ferns. 

After  the  vegetation  in  the  swamp  has  been 
buried,  it  still  takes  a  long  time  for  it  to  be  made 
into  true  coal.  In  some  parts  of  the  country,  vege- 
tation is  now  collecting  in  swampy  places,  which 
will  some  time  make  coal,  if  it  is  buried  and  pre- 
served long  enough. 

The  most  of  our  coal  beds  were  formed  so  long 
ago  that  we  can  have  no  real  idea  of  the  time.  The 
surface  of  the  earth  was  very  different,  and  the 
fruit-bearing  trees,  and  higher  animals,  as  well  as 
man,  had  not  yet  come  upon  the  earth. 

The  climate  of  a  large  part  of  the  earth  must 
have  been  warm,  and  like  that  in  the  tropics  at  the 
present  time.  The  ancient  swamps,  of  which  we 
are  speaking,  contained  luxuriant  growths  of 
palms,  tree-ferns,  lepidodendrons,  and  many  other 
plants. 

After  the  swamps  had  lasted  a  long  time,  the 
earth's  surface  would  sometimes  sink,  and  permit 
them  to  be  covered  by  mud  and  sand,  either  from 
a  river  or  ocean.  As  the  years  passed,  they  would 
become  so  deeply  buried  and  pressed  upon  by  the 
earth  over  them,  that  the  vegetable  matter  would 


188  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS 

change  its  appearance,  and  there  would  at  last 
result  a  layer  of  black  shining  coal. 

Years  passed,  and  some  new  earthquake  raised 
the  beds  of  coal,  and  the  layers  of  sand  and  clay, 
high  in  the  air,  until  they  formed  mountains. 
When  people  came  they  discovered  the  seams  of  this 
black  substance  sticking  out  of  the  sides  of  the 
mountains,  or  in  the  canons.  They  found  that  it 
would  burn,  and  were  made  very  happy,  for  in  some 
parts  of  the  earth  there  are  few  trees  which  can  be 
used  for  fuel. 

All  they  had  to  do  to  get  the  coal,  which  showed 
upon  the  mountain  sides,  was  to  dig  it  out;  but  in 
some  places,  Nature  did  not  uncover  it,  and  they 
had  to  sink  shafts  hundreds  of  feet  deep  in  order  to 
get  what  they  wanted. 

We  cannot  tell  how  much  of  the  heat  of  the  sun 
is  stored  in  the  coal  beds.  We  know  that  it  must 
be  a  very  large  amount,  for  the  rays  of  the  sun  were 
necessary  to  make  the  plants  grow  from  which  the 
coal  was  made.  Some  people  have  called  coal  solidi- 
fied sunlight.  We  are  not  sorry  that  Nature  has  pre- 
served the  vegetation  of  the  swamps  which  were 
upon  the  earth  so  long  ago.  It  is  pleasant  to  think 
that  she  did  it  for  our  especial  benefit,  but  it  may 
be  that  she  would  have  done  it  just  the  same  if  we 
had  no  use  for  it. 

There  are  many  different  kinds  of  coal.     That 


COAL,    GRAPHITE,    DIAMOND.  189 

which  was  made  last  is  the  poorest.  It  is  called  lig- 
nite, because  it  is  nearest  wood  in  its  appearance. 

Coal  which  is  older,  and  contains  more  carbon,  is 
called  bituminous.  The  best  coal  is  found  in  the 
rocks  which  have  been  heated  and  squeezed  the 
most.  This  coal  is  called  anthracite,  and  is  almost 
pure  carbon.  The  soot  which  coal  leaves  when  it 
burns,  is  formed  of  little  particles  of  carbon  which 
were  not  burned. 

Lignite  and  bituminous  coal  are  both  found  upon 
the  Pacific  Coast.  Nature  has  placed  in  the  rocks 
of  California,  so  many  different  kinds  of  minerals, 
that  when  it  came  to  the  coal  she  must  have  got 
tired,  for  there  is  not  a  great  deal  here.  There 
were,  probably,  not  many  swampy  places  in  this 
region  for  the  coal-forming  vegetation  to  grow  in. 
Coal,  in  greater  or  less  quantities,  is  found  in  nearly 
all  parts  of  the  world.  The  whalers  have  dis- 
covered it  far  north  of  the  Arctic  circle. 

Now  let  us  see  what  is  the  connection  between 
coal  and  the  black  lead  of  our  pencils.  Black  lead, 
or  graphite,  is  formed  from  coal.  When  coal  is 
heated  far  below  the  surface  of  the  earth,  where 
there  is  no  air  to  permit  it  to  burn,  it  is  changed 
to  graphite.  Ice  does. not  seem  at  all  like  water, 
although  it  is  only  water  under  a  different  form. 
Thus  it  is  with  graphite,  which  is  the  carbon  of 
the  pure  anthracite  coal  under  a  different  form. 


190  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

Now  we  come  to  the  diamond.  It  hardly  seems 
possible  that  this  sparkling  gem  is  made  of  the  same 
substance  as  graphite. 

When  the  diamond  is  heated  very  hot  it  disap- 
pears in  the  form  of  invisible  carbonic  acid  gas. 
This  is  the  deadly  gas  which  comes  from  coal  when 
it  is  burning.  Our  breath,  as  it  comes  from  our 
lungs,  is  also  laden  with  this  gas. 

Like  the  graphite,  the  clear  diamonds  were  made 
deep  in  the  earth,  where  it  is  very  hot.  The  carbon 
came  up  through  the  rocks  as  an  invisible  gas,  and 
condensed  in  little  cavities,  thus  forming  the  beau- 
tiful diamond  crystals. 

You  can  understand  how  this  was  done  by  placing 
a  small  pinch  of  sulphur  in  one  end  of  a  glass 
tube,  and  heating  it.  The  sulphur  will  be  driven 
away  as  invisible  gas,  and  condense  again  in  little 
crystals  in  the  cool  part  of  the  tube. 

Diamonds  have  been  made  artificially  upon  the 
sides  of  furnaces  where  there  was  very  great  heat. 
These  diamonds  are  no  larger  than  a  pinhead,  arid 
are  not  fit  for  jewelry.  Nature  makes  the  crystals 
of  diamond  as  large  as  a  robin's  egg.  They  have 
shining  faces  upon  them,  but  have  to  be  cut  and 
polished  before  they  show  all  their  beauty. 

The  most  of  our  diamonds  come  from  Africa  and 
Brazil.  A  few  have  been  found  in  California  in  the 
gold-bearing  gravels  of  the  placer  mines. 


COAL,   GRAPHITE,    DIAMOND.  191 

We  sometimes  hear  people  spsak  of  California 
diamonds.  They  generally  refer  to  clear  little 
crystals  of  quartz,  and  not  to  real  diamonds. 


BLACKBOARD     WORDS. 

Suffocating  (suffo-ka'ting),  lubricating  (lu'brl-ka'ting), 
luxuriant  (lugz-u'ri-ant),  bituminous  (bl-tu'ml-nus),  an- 
thracite (an'thra-sit),  lepidodendron  (16p'i-d6-dSn'dr6n). 


Carbon = one  of  the  elementary  substances. 

Lmster  =  the  character  of  the  light  reflected  from  the  surface 

of  a  mineral. 
Crucible  =  a   vessel   in   which    minerals   are   placed    to    be 

melted. 
Tree  ferns  =  a  fern  having  a  tall  trunk,  with  a  cluster  of 

fronds  at  the  top. 

Lepidodendron  =  a  genus  of  fossil  trees. 
Shaft  =  a  well-like  excavation  in  the  earth  for  raising  ore. 
Carbonic  acid  gas  =  a  poisonous  gas  composed  of  oxygen 

and  carbon. 

Sulphur  =  a  yellow,  inflammable  mineral. 
Cry stal  =  the  regular  form  which  a  mineral  substance  takes 

when  it  solidifies. 
Liaden  =  loaded,  burdened. 


SOME  ANIMALS  OF  LONG   AGO. 


E  have  learned  that 
the  surface  of  the 
earth  upon  which 
we  live  is  changing 
all  the  time.  What 
was  once  the  ocean 
bottom  is  now  dry 

land,  and  some  of  the  mountains  which   used   to 

rise  so  high  have  been  worn  down  until  they  are 

now  but  little  above  the  level  of  the  ocean. 

Have  the  animals  around  us  always  remained  as 

they  are  now,  or  have  they,  too,  changed,  as  the 

years  have  passed  by?     There  are   many   things 

which   make   us   feel   sure 

that    they    have    changed 

very   much    indeed.      The 

strange     skeletons     which 

are    often   dug  up  are  not 

like    those    of   any    living 

animals. 

All  of  the  animals  have 

their    fathers,  and    grand- 


REFEREXCE    TOPICS. 

Animals  change. 

The  world  without  life. 

Life  in  the  sea. 

Extinct  monsters. 

Reptiles. 

Birds. 

Horses. 


192 


SOME   ANIMALS   OF   LONG  AGO.  193 

fathers,  and  great-grandfathers,  just  as  we  do.  If 
the  animals  do  not  change,  the  bones  which  we  find 
which  belonged  to  their  grandfathers,  who  lived  ever 
so  long  ago,  ought  to  be  just  like  the  bones  of  those 
living  now.  But  the  bones  of  those  ancient  ani- 
mals are  so  different,  we  must  believe  that  they 
have  changed. 

There  were  birds  long  ago,  but  they  were  different 
from  our  birds,  which  sing  so  sweetly  on  spring 
mornings.  There  were  horses  long  ago,  but  they 
were  not  like  the  horses  which  pull  our  heavy 
wagons.  There  were  reptiles,  but  they  were  not 
like  the  lizards  which  we  see  sunning  themselves  on 
the  rocks. 

The  skeletons  which  are  often  found  sticking  out 
of  the  banks  by  the  river,  or  when  wells  are  being 
dug,  tell  us  a  true  story  of  many  of  the  animals 
which  lived  upon  the  earth  a  long  time  ago. 

Let  us  try  to  form  a  picture  of  those  old  times, 
when  everything  was  so  different.  If  we  should  go 
back  far  enough,  we  should  find  the  earth  without 
any  living  thing  upon  it.  For  long,  long  years,  the 
waves  dashed  against  the  bare  rocks.  The  world 
was  young  then. 

At  last,  some  life  appeared  in  the  ocean.  There 
were  first,  little  animals  so  small  we  could  hardly 
have  seen  them  without  a  miscroscope.  Then  ap- 
peared the  little  mollusks,  with  their  hard  shells, 


194  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

the  soft  worms,  the  crabs,  and  the  floating  jelly-fish. 
But  neither  through  all  the  ocean,  nor  upon  the 
land,  was  there  yet  an  animal  with  a  backbone. 

The  world  would  then  have  been  a  dreary  place 
for  us.  We  could  not  have  gone  either  fishing  or 
hunting,  and  there  were  no  fruits  or  berries.  To 
be  sure,  there  were  several  sorts  of  clams  and 
mussels,  but  we  would  have  grown  tired  of  them. 

The  years  rolled  around  then  as  they  do  now,  and 
new  animals  appeared.  There  were  fishes  after  a 
while,  but  they  were  queer  fellows,  and  very  differ- 
ent from  any  which  we  see  in  the  markets.  They 
were  the  first  of  the  backboned  animals. 

While  the  fishes  were  multiplying  in  the  ocean, 
a  few  small  plants  began  to  grow  upon  the  land, 
and  insects  finally  came  to  feed  upon  them. 

As  the  years  went  on,  some  of  the  fishes  got  so 
they  could  live  out  of  the  water  a  part  of  the  time. 
It  was  pretty  awkward  walking  on  the  land  with 
their  fins,  and  so  it  came  about  that  legs  took  the 
place  of  the  fins.  Their  whole  bodies  changed,  and 
so  at- last  these  animals,  whose  grandfathers  were 
once  fishes,  came  to  look  more  like  the  alligators 
than  anything  else. 

These  animals  changed  more  and  more.  Many 
made  their  homes  on  the  land,  but  others  continued 
to  spend  a  part  of  their  lives  in  the  ocean.  They 
were  the  fathers  of  some  of  the  strangest  animals 


SOME    ANIMALS   OF    LONG   AGO. 


195 


that  ever  lived  upon  the  earth.  We  could  not 
imagine  anything  more  terrifying,  even  in  our 
wildest  dreams,  than  some  of  the  animals  which  now 
came  to  live  here. 


LEAPING  DINOSAUR. 


One  clumsy  animal,  which  had  a  length  of  eighty 
feet,  walked  about  upon  its  hind  legs  as  the  kangaroo 
does.  Its  body  was  as  large  as  a  whale.  Its  long 
tail  dragged  upon  the  ground  as  it  moved  sluggishly 
along  the  beach,  or  through  the  swamp. 

There  were  others  of  a  very  different  shape,  which 
were  able  to  fly  by  the  aid  of  great,  bat-like  wings. 
They  were  not  birds  at  all,  but  flying  reptiles.  They 
were  of  such  size  that  they  could  pounce  upon  and 
carry  off  all  but  the  largest  animals.  What  a 
scampering  to  cover  there  must  have  been  among 
the  animals,  when  one  of  these  monsters  came 
flying  through  the  air,  looking  for  his  morning 


196 


WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 


meal.  Animals  fought  and  ate  each  other  in  those 
days  just  as  they  do  now. 

I  am  afraid  we  would  have  had  a  sorry  time  if 
we  had  lived  in  those  days.  Between  the  great 
monsters  that  swam  in 
the  sea,  and  crept  through 
the  jungles,  and  those 
which  flew  overhead,  we 
would  have  had  to  be  on 
our  guard  all  the  time. 

Later  there   appeared 
on  the  scene  other  forms, 
more  like  the  true  birds, 
but  they  were  still  very 
different    from     any 
which  we  meet  now. 
One  of  these  early 
grandfathers     of 
our  birds  was 
about  the  size 
of  -a    crow. 
It  had  large 
jaws,  filled 
with      teeth, 

like  the  reptiles.  Its  tail  also  was  different  from  that 
of  the  present  birds,  being  like  that  of  a  lizard,  but 
covered  with  feathers,  as  was  the  rest  of  the  body. 

The  sea,  the  land,  an  1  the  air,  were  full  of  these 


SOME    ANIMALS   OF    LONG   AGO.  197 

strange  animals.  Some  were  of  a  peaceful  disposi- 
tion, but  others  fought  among  themselves,  and 
awakened  the  echoes  with  their  loud  cries. 

Among  the  smaller  animals  was  one  the  size  of  a 
fox,  but  having  much  the 
appearance  of  the  tapir, 
which  now  inhabits  South 
America.  Would  you  be- 
lieve it  possible  that  this 
little  animal  was  one  of 

the  early   grandfathers    of         EARLY  ANCESTOR  OF  MODERN 

.o      mi    •       •  n  HORSE. 

our  horse?    1  his  is  really 

the  fact,  for  so  many  bones  have  been  found  that  we 
can  trace  the  whole  line  of  grandfathers  down  to 
the  present  horse. 

There  were  many  interesting  things  about  this 
little  horse  that  lived  so  long  ago.  Instead  of 
having  one  hoof  on  each  foot,  it  had  four  toes  on 
the  front  feet  and  three  on  the  hind  ones. 

As  the  years  passed,  the  descendants  of  the  little 
horse  slowly  increased  in  size.  At  one  time  they 
were  as  large  as  a  sheep,  later,  about  the  size  of  a 
donkey,  until  at  last  they  looked  like  our  horses. 
Our  savage  forefathers  caught  some  of  these  wild 
horses  which  roamed  over  parts  of  Asia  and 
Europe,  and  tamed  them  for  use. 

The  little  horse  used  to  live  in  America.  His 
bones  ha^&e  been  found  in  Wyoming.  His  descend- 


198  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

ants  grew  up  here,  and  finally  all  died  before  the 
American  Indians  came.  The  old  Mexicans  had 
never  seen  horses,  and  when  the  men  of  Cortez 
came  they  thought  the  horse  and  rider  formed  one 
animal. 


SKELETON   OF  THE   EARLY   ANCESTOR  OF  THE  HORSE. 

As  the  race  of  horses  gradually  became  larger 
their  toes  disappeared,  until  now,  as  you  all  know, 
the  horse  has  only  one  hoof  on  each  foot.  Above 
each  fetlock  there  are,  however,  two  little  bones,  or 
splints,  which  are  remnants  of  the  toes  upon  which 
the  early  grandfather  walked. 

While  the  years  were  passing,  the  great  reptiles 
which  we  have  learned  about  began  to  disappear. 
They  seem  to  have  been  too  clumsy  to  resist  the 
fiercer  animals  which  came. 


SOME  ANIMALS   OF   LONG  AGO.  199 

Some  of  the  lizards  lost  the  use  of  their  feet, 
and  finally  turned  into  the  snakes  which  we  all 
dislike  so  much.  The  python,  of  India,  has  still 
little  remnants  of  legs  under  its  skin. 

The  birds  also  changed.  They  lost  their  teeth 
and  tails,  and  some  of  them  looked  much  as  our 
birds  do.  One  kind  grew  large  and  heavy,  and  lost 
the  power  of  flight.  The  ostrich  has  descended  from 
such  birds.  It  has  powerful  legs,  and  can  run  as 
fast  as  a  horseman  can  ride.  The  ostrich  still  has 
wings,  but  there  were  others  that  entirely  lost  their 
wings.  Bones  of  gigantic  birds,  without  wings, 
have  been  found  in  New  Zealand.  They  stood 
nearly  ten  feet  high. 

The  great  grandfathers  of  the  fishes  have  always 
lived  in  the  ocean,  but  those  of  the  whales,  seals, 
and  porpoises  used  to  live  on  the  land.  These 
animals,  you  know,  are  not  fishes.  They  are  mam- 
mals, have  warm  blood,  and  suckle  their  young. 

The  whale's  great-grandfather  then  had  four 
legs,  and  lived  upon  the  land.  But  for  some 
reason  its  descendants  took  to  the  ocean.  Their 
bodies  became  fish-like  in  shape.  Their  hind  legs 
entirely  disappeared,  and  the  fore  ones  were 
changed  to  flippers,  to  aid  in  swimming.  Even 
now  the  whale  cannot  stay  under  the  water  all  of 
the  time,  but  has  to  come  to  the  surface  for  air 
quite  frequently. 


200  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  animals  have  changed  through 
long  years  that  have  passed  since  they  came  to 
live  upon  the  earth.  The  body  of  each  one  changes 
to  suit  the  demands  of  swimming,  or  walking,  or 
flying. 

The  story  of  our  animal  friends  is  full  of  interest. 
When  we  know  how  they  have  changed,  as  well  as 
how  the  hills  and  valleys  are  made,  we  have  learned 
a  great  deal  about  our  home. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Skeleton  (skeTe-tun),  microscope  (ml'kro-skop,  or  mlk'- 
ro-skop),  mollusk  (m61'lusk),  reptile  (r£p'til),  kangaroo 
(kan  ga-roo'),  al'ligator  (al'll-ga'ter),  descendant  (de-s6nd'- 
ant),  disappear  (dls'ap-per'). 


Mollusk  =  an  animal  of  one  of  the  grand  divisions  of  the  ani- 
mal kingdom,  generally  with  a  hard  shell. 
Backbone  =  the  column  of  bones  in  the  back. 
Fins  =  organs  of  a  fish  used  in  swimming. 
Alligator  =  a  large  carnivorous  reptile,  found  in  America. 
Kangaroo  =  a  species  of  jumping  marsupials. 
Flippers  =  broad,  flat  limbs,  used  for  swimming. 
Splint  =  a  thin  piece  of  wood  or  bone. 


ft    u:  tTY 


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